The fate of the painting 'Northern Confucian Scholar' by artist Nam Son

ABOUT THE PAINTING OF THE NORTHERN GRAPEFRUIT COUNTRY

With oil paint, size 50 x 40 cm, on a dark blue background, the stern face of a patriotic Confucian scholar who participated in the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc movement stands out. It is a portrait of Mr. Sy Duc (who was both Nam Son's uncle and teacher), with a strong, bright but sad look. Few people know that on his head he wore a white turban to mourn the loss of his country and home.

The painting "Northern Confucian Scholar " by artist Nam Son

Photo: Document by Ngo Kim Khoi

In a realistic style, the portrait of the Northern Confucian scholar is depicted accurately and boldly, demonstrating a solid craft and a hidden artistic ability. The entire portrait exudes a quiet, respectful atmosphere. The expression in the eyes reveals many things, with a lively gaze hiding a silent sadness, as if wanting to tell posterity the ups and downs of the times. The thoughtful expression is even shown on the hands, with long, slender fingers resting carelessly on the chin, long, curved nails according to ancient customs.

In the dark tones, the turban in the shape of the Chinese character (人) stands out with a bright halo, with the folds of the turban and the texture of the fabric being wonderfully rendered. This is the most remarkable thing in the painting, because technically speaking, white is the most difficult color to render, and the artist has taken great care in creating the delicate and elaborate brushstrokes that represent the texture of the fabric. This detail is reminiscent of Rembrandt's Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul , where the turban also follows the texture of the fabric.

This was also the work that made Victor Tardieu respect Nam Son's talent and from there believe in the painting ability of Vietnamese people, leading to the decision to stay in Indochina to pursue Fine Arts, instead of returning to France after completing the mural, as the daily newspaper o l'Avenir du Tonkin later confirmed: " Mr. Nguyen Nam Son, whose talent everyone here highly appreciated, was Mr. Tardieu's first student. It was because of Nam Son's quick results that Mr. Tardieu had the idea of ​​establishing the Indochina School of Fine Arts, according to the decree signed on October 27, 1924" (issue dated July 18, 1930, page 1).

WHERE WILL IT GO?

It is known that in an inheritance lottery, the painting " Confucian Scholars of the North" belonged to Mr. Nguyen An Thach, the eldest son of Nam Son.

According to the "Minutes of the family meeting of eight siblings of Nam Son Nguyen Van Tho, at 68 Nguyen Du, Hanoi" (Nam Son family archives) on April 19, 1988, confirmed by the People's Committee of Nguyen Du Ward, Hanoi City, the first-line heirs of the entire family decided that all of Nam Son's paintings, model statues, and art books would be handed over to Nam Son's second son, Mr. Nguyen An Kieu, for safekeeping, not to be sold, and kept to establish the Nam Son Museum.

After Mr. Nguyen An Thach passed away, the painting "Confucian Scholar of the North" was transferred to Mr. Nguyen An Kieu for preservation with the same purpose.

When there was information about the upcoming auction, on March 18, 2025, the family had a meeting with the second-line heirs, and I (Ngo Kim Khoi, author of the article and granddaughter of painter Nam Son - TN) represented the family in writing an email to Christie's (to Ms. Ziwei Yi, the person responsible for this auction) to protest the sale of Nam Son's painting, with the request:

"This work of art is part of our family legacy and according to a clear agreement recorded in the family records, the sale of this work is not allowed. In fact, it has been decided that Nam Son's works, including this painting, must be preserved with the aim of establishing a museum dedicated to his artistic legacy. Any commercial action related to this painting would violate the collective decision and ownership of our family.

We therefore request that you immediately withdraw this work from any scheduled or ongoing auctions and provide us with information on the provenance of this sale so that we can investigate how this work came to be offered for auction at Christie's. We are prepared to take the necessary measures, including legal action, to protect the family commitment and protect the integrity of the Nam Son heritage."

On March 20, 2025, we received a response from Christie's: "Thank you for your email. Our team is reviewing this case and will be in touch with you shortly."

The work "Nhat Nho Xu Bac" truly belongs to the artistic heritage of Nam Son, and more broadly, to the artistic heritage of Vietnam, playing an important, if not decisive, role in the opening of modern Vietnamese fine arts.

It deserves to be in the Nam Son Museum or the national museum. Entering a private collection, this work is really meaningless, and is a painting related to a legal dispute, and especially depicts a man wearing a mourning scarf. We do not know who is selling this painting. Although the Northern Confucianist is conducting an auction, the artist's family has not received any further information from the famous auction house Christie's. And what will be the fate of the Northern Confucianist by Nam Son - worthy of being listed as a "national treasure" - then?

Despite protests from artist Nam Son's family, the painting " Nhan Nho Xu Bac" by artist Nam Son was still put on the auction block by Christie's and the painting was hammered at 1.3 million Hong Kong dollars (HKD), or 167,960 USD, plus taxes, which would be about 218,350 USD, equivalent to 5.5 billion VND.

The Three Ladies by Nguyen Gia Tri

Photo: CHRISTIE'S

Indochina paintings are always popular and sought after at international auctions. Also at the 20th Century Day Sale of Christie's Hong Kong that took place on March 29, the painting Three Ladies (Les trois femmes) by famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri, painted in 1934, was sold for up to 16.1 million HKD, equivalent to 2.07 million USD (52.7 billion VND). Previously, the painting Three Ladies (size 116.5 x 89.5 cm) was initially valued at 4 - 6 million HKD (500,000 USD - 770,000 USD) by Christie's. This is a work that Nguyen Gia Tri gave to famous painter Le Pho.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/so-phan-buc-tranh-nha-nho-xu-bac-cua-hoa-si-nam-son-185250330220742813.htm