At the Sotheby’s Paris auction, "Les Chanteuses de Campagne" (Folk Singers) by Nguyen Phan Chanh was sold for €1,020,000.

As a result, "Folk Singers" has entered the top 20 most expensive Vietnamese paintings of all time, ranking 15th alongside works by renowned artists such as Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Le Quoc Loc, Pham Hau, To Ngoc Van, and Vu Cao Dam.

This marks the second work by Nguyen Phan Chanh to reach the million-dollar mark, following the sale of his silk painting "Les Couturières" (The Seamstresses) for $1,390,000 at Christie’s in December 2020.

The painting "Folk Singers" depicts two rural women wearing traditional conical hats and brown tunics with black trousers, walking barefoot in a rustic setting surrounded by earthy tones. This composition reflects Phan Chanh’s focus on simple beauty and offers viewers an insightful glimpse into everyday life in early 20th-century Vietnam.

Previously, the painting was known only through archival records and exhibitions in Hanoi (1930) and Paris (1931). It was later acquired by a couple in France and passed down through generations, recently being discovered at their grandchild's home in rural France.

Nguyen Phan Chanh, born in 1892 in Ha Tinh, is a prominent figure in Indochinese art and a pioneer of Vietnamese silk painting. He began painting at the age of 33 when he joined the first class of the Indochina College of Fine Arts. In 1929, his work was exhibited at the Colonial Art Exhibition (Salon de l'art colonial) in Paris, marking a significant milestone in his career.

Deeply inspired by his rural childhood, Nguyen Phan Chanh consistently depicted familiar scenes with a close perspective, earning praise as a chronicler of traditional life. He left behind more than 170 works and holds the record for the most paintings displayed at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

Some of his other famous paintings include "Washing Vegetables at the Pond Bridge", "Baby Feeding Birds", "Playing Checkers", and "Bowl of Water for a Break".

Tinh Le