Beschreibung:

+ ALIX AYMÉ (FRANCE & VIETNAM, 1894-1989)PROFESSOR AT THE ÉCOLE DES BEAUX-ARTS DE L’INDOCHINE (EBAI - INDOCHINA FINE ARTS COLLEGE OF HANOI)Jeune fille assise aux fleurs – A seated young beauty with flowersLacquered wooden panelSigned on the lower rightFramed with an American caseDimensions (the sole lacquered panel, frame excluded): 77 x 49 cm This lot will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne of the artist in preparation by Mr. Pascal Lacombe.Provenance: a Brittany private collection, France. + NOTICE TO BIDDERS: This lot is stored at CADOGAN TATE PARIS. Please contact CADOGAN TATE at Parc des Docks, Bâtiment 553B, 50 rue Ardouin, St Ouen, 93400 Paris, Fran e, +33 1 48 20 85 60.Notes:1. Born in Marseille as Alix Angèle Marguerite Hava, Alix Aymé (this last name being that of her second husband, Georges Aymé, who eventually became the Commandant of French Forces in Indochina) was a pupil of George Desvallières (1861–1950) and then Maurice Denis (1870-1943), with whom she maintained a close correspondence throughout her career. She first traveled to Asia (Shanghai, China then Hanoi, Vietnam) in the 1920s with her first husband, a milestone from which would grow her fascination for this continent. She returned to Indochina in the late 1920s together with her new-born child and then traveled extensively the South-Eastern Asia. Alix Aymé was inextricably linked to the French colonial experience in Indochina: she lived and worked for many years in Hanoi; she was instrumental in the revival of the ancient art of lacquer that she taught at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (Indochina School of Fine Arts) along with Joseph Inguimberty (1896-1971). Her work is at the crossing point between the Nabis style and the traditional Vietnamese painting. It is also inspired from the Byzantine icons with a notable taste for gilt backgrounds. She thereby brought traditional Vietnamese subjects, such as young beauties and maternities, under the light of Western Modernity. She was particularly talented at depicting the soul and intimacy of her models. In September of 2012, an exhibition about the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (EBAI) opened at Paris Museum of Asian Art (Cernuschi Museum) that drew attention to the work of Alix Aymé with the display of a magnificent lacquered cabinet by hert that was arguably the ‘star attraction’. Today, her work is found in a number of important private and public collections worldwidely, including the Cabinet des Dessins of the Louvre Museum (Paris, France), the Musée des Années Trente (Paris, France), the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang (Cambodia) and the Evergreen Museum and Library of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore (USA)2. This portrait seems to belong to a series of lacquered wooden panels depicting women together with flowers and may possibly be the most notable one. Indeed, it stands out because of its size (it appears to be the largest one of the series) and also because the body of the model is made visible, whilst on the other panels, their sole busts are depicted. Alix Aymé captured the soul and intimacy or her model - a very young girl with almond eyes, half-long hair and a delicate smile - who appears to be serene and calm. She is wearing a long brown long robe as well as a flower necklace and his holding a bouquet of flowers. The sobriety of her tunisque is deeply contrasting with the bright pastel colors of the flowers and with the gold background. The latter makes it looks like an icon rather than a mere portrait, which conveys spirituality and invites to meditate.3. Compare with a panel depicting a young girl with a dove of smaller size (45,5 x 38 cm) sold at AGUTTES, Paris, France, 2020-10-06, lot 24, for €27,000 hammer price. Also compare with a panel depicting a young girl with flowers of smaller size (48 x 38 cm) sold at AGUTTES, Paris, France, 2022-03-14, lot 30, for €87,000 hammer price. This last example is the closest one to our panel and gives a good idea on t