IMPORTANT: THIS LOT IS SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS. TO BID ON TH - Lot 302

IMPORTANT: THIS LOT IS SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS. TO BID ON THIS LOT, A DEPOSIT OF 20,000 EUROS IS REQUIRED, PLEASE CONTACT THE AUCTIONEER. Lê Quốc Lộc (1918- 1987) - Indochina School of Fine Arts. Village on the banks of the Red River. Six-panel polychrome lacquer screen signed "Q-LÔC" in incise lower right. Circa 1942-1943. H_99 cm W_195 cm, each panel approximately 32.5cm wide. A probable restoration in the black background at the top of the rightmost panel, or reworked by the artist; some rubbing; minor soiling. Provenance: acquired in Indochina by André and Marie Duménil. Marie Duménil, born Vieillard in 1907, was the daughter of Paul-François Vieillard, an agronomist specializing in colonial agriculture and director of the Ecole supérieure d'agronomie in Hanoi. Her mother was, according to family memory, an imperial princess of the Nguyen dynasty, daughter of Đồng Khánh or Thành Thái. After the Duménil couple returned to France in 1946, the work was passed down through the generations. This majestic and rare folding screen signed by Lê Quốc Lộc depicts the serenity of Tonkin's natural landscapes. Its captivating composition, the contrast of the planes, the richness of the nuances and details, the variety of techniques and renderings of lacquer for the foliage, in solids or in relief, in positive or negative: everything testifies to the excellence achieved by the artist, who here realizes one of his most famous evocations. Probably graduating around the year 1942, the young artist shone with personal artistic choices while demonstrating a style faithful to the inspiration of his masters in France and Indochina (Jean Dunand, Nguyễn Gia Trí, Phạm Quang Hậu...). As early as 1941, however, Lê Quốc Lộc exhibited his work at the Coopérative des artistes indochinois, founded on February 24, 1939 at the initiative of Evariste Jonchère and Governor General Brévié. The cooperative's well-attended exhibitions offered works created by the school's graduates for sale, and were designed above all to encourage orders: thanks to an advance of up to 70% of the fixed price, and a commission reduced to 10%, the Coopérative des artistes indochinois vigorously encouraged young graduates to make a living from their art. At the same time, Lê Quốc Lộc opens a prolific studio on Hanoi's Boulevard Armand Rousseau (now Rue Lò Đúc). He and his assistants produced several known versions of this work, all done between 1942 and 1943 (see Adam's sale, June 28-29, 2022, lot 318). Some are unsigned, but only stamped by the Conseil de maîtrise des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine. Others, like our example, are directly signed by the twenty-five-year-old master. Expert : M. Etienne LETERRIER