LE PHO ( 1907-2001 ). Attributed to. "Self-portrait". Penci - Lot 237

LE PHO ( 1907-2001 ). Attributed to. "Self-portrait". Pencil drawing circa 1938, depicting him. Designated drawing on a letter. Le Pho was born into a powerful Vietnamese mandarin, the penultimate son of Kham Sai Lê Hoan. After a tough childhood, his schooling led him in 1925 to the Hanoi School of Fine Arts, recently founded by painter Victor Tardieu. On completion of his studies, he was invited by his master to travel to France for the 1931 Exposition Coloniale, where he supervised the artistic aspects of the Angkor pavilion. On this occasion, he visited Italy and discovered primitive painting and the frescoes in Tuscan churches, which amazed him. Back in Hanoi, he was appointed art teacher at the Lycée Albert Sarraut, enabling him to continue his personal work. Success came quickly. He was able to settle into a villa on the shores of Hanoi lake, and enjoy a bohemian lifestyle among the vibrant Vietnamese intelligentsia. But, attracted by the aura of the artistic Paris of those years, he decided in 1937 to return to France, where he remained until the end of his life in 2001. Size: approx. 30 x 40 cm.