From the perspective of cultural assimilation, reaction, and intersection with Western culture, the works of Vu Cao Dam are an extension of these two cultural backgrounds on his journey to explore his artistic language, focusing on intimate themes.
Vu Cao Dam (1908 – 2000), a graduate of the Indochina School of Fine Arts, departed Vietnam in 1931, embarking on a journey abroad. He received a scholarship to study at the Ecole du Louvre in France in 1932. In Vu Cao Dam’s artistic career, he received high acclaim in two main disciplines: sculpture (including terracotta and bronze sculptures depicting portraits of young women, friends, family, teachers, animals, etc.) and painting on various materials influenced by diverse cultural sources.
Figure 1: Artist Vu Cao Dam
Vu Cao Dam’s sculpture art shows significant influences from Khmer tradition and ancient Chinese sculpture. He primarily worked with terracotta and bronze. His chosen subjects for depiction were simple and close to daily life, such as portraits of relatives, close friends, images of young women, mother-child relationships, and even depictions of chickens. The techniques and artistic language developed in sculpture later influenced his transition to painting. His sculptures are preserved and exhibited in various museums worldwide, including the Quai Branly Museum (France), Sa Bassa Blanca Museum (Spain), the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, and numerous private collections.
Figure 2: Left: Terracotta sculpture depicting a man with the artist’s signature. Dimensions: 22 x 14 x 14 cm – Right: Terracotta sculpture depicting a portrait of a girl. Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 9 cm
The transition between sculpture and silk painting occurred between 1938 and 1945 while he was in France. During this period, casting bronze molds for sculptures was prohibited, which restricted his creative process but also pushed him towards exploring painting. Initially focusing on silk painting with a dark palette and deep composition influenced by Song dynasty and later Italian Renaissance painting, Vu Cao Dam traveled extensively, observed much, and studied deeply to develop his painting style on a foundation of sculptural form. From silk painting, he transitioned to oil painting upon settling in Vence, Southern France, in 1952. Here, he lived in the villa “Les Cadrans Solaires” and befriended neighbors like painter Morris Kestelman (1905-1998), who had taught at the Royal College of Art. In November of the same year, he moved to the villa “Les Heures Claires” near residences where Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall had lived. Alongside these artist peers, Vu Cao Dam gained new experiences and enriched his painting style. During this period, his paintings also reflected influences from these aforementioned artists, particularly Marc Chagall. This period marked Vu Cao Dam’s exploration and incorporation of Western artistic elements into themes deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture, such as solemn paternal figures, young women in conversation, mother-child relationships, and scenes inspired by excerpts from Vietnamese literature like “Chinh Phu Ngam” by Dang Tran Con and the masterpiece “The Tale of Kieu” by Nguyen Du.
Vu Dinh Thi and Close Friends
Vu Dinh Thi (1864 – 1930), Vu Cao Dam’s father and a respected figure in the Vietnamese Catholic community, influenced his son greatly. Vu Dinh Thi was the fourth child in a family with roots in the 18th-century Catholic tradition. From a young age, he was exposed to Latin, Spanish, and French. He was also an admirer of Confucianism and enjoyed Chinese poetry. In 1886, the Hanoi School of Interpreters was established to train personnel for the colonial administration, and Vu Dinh Thi was its chief administrator. Fluent in French, he was among the few Vietnamese sent to Paris in 1889 for the World Exhibition. He was recognized as a “lettré” — an intellectual in the eyes of the French at the time — and was a significant inspiration for Vu Cao Dam. Vu Cao Dam created portraits of his father and drew inspiration from these portraits to depict scholars and officials, though his output in this area was limited. One notable example is “Le Mandarin,” part of the renowned collection of Dr. Tuấn Phạm.
Figure 3: “Le Mandarin,” 1942. Ink and watercolor on silk. Signed and inscribed in Chinese characters below right. Dimensions: 145.5 x 71 cm
Additionally, Vu Cao Dam occasionally painted portraits of friends. Two exemplary works were part of the collection of Nguyen Huu Hop and Nguyen Nguyet Nga. This couple had close ties with Vietnamese artists in France and the royal family, particularly Bao Dai, the last emperor of Vietnam.
Figure 4: Left: Portrait of Nguyen Huu Hop, 1951. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated below right. Dimensions: 41 x 33 cm – Right: Portrait of Nguyen Huu Hop. Oil on silk. Signed below left. Dimensions: 53.5 x 44.8 cm.
Young Women
This theme reveals a clear dichotomy in Vu Cao Dam’s painting style across different periods. In his early silk paintings, young women appeared romantically with a style influenced by Song dynasty silk paintings. The scenes primarily depicted young women in traditional attire engaged in conversation, sometimes contemplative and serene, and occasionally bathing in a natural setting.
Figure 5: “Seated Young Woman,” 1935 – 1940. Ink and powdered colors on silk. Signed “Vu Cao Dam” and inscribed in Chinese characters below right.
After establishing an exclusive collaboration with Wally Findlay, Vu Cao Dam created works portraying young women in a “divine” manner (“Divinité”). The beauty in his series “Divinité” drew much influence from Eastern Buddhist culture, accompanied by a vibrant color palette in oil on canvas.
Figure 6: “Divinité,” 1963. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated below right. Dimensions: 65 x 54 cm.
Maternal Love
Artworks depicting maternal love are relatively common in the paintings of Vu Cao Dam. The bond between mother and child is vividly expressed through gestures and facial expressions. The embrace, the affectionate gaze, and holding the child close to the heart are carefully conveyed by him. Perhaps for this reason, the emotions in his paintings are easily felt and endearing to viewers. Over different periods, Vu Cao Dam’s artworks on this theme also undergo noticeable changes in expressive language. In traditional silk paintings, transitioning from sculpture to painting, he maintains a nostalgic color palette, clear and detailed from background to central figures. Later, switching to oil paints, the tender emotions are still conveyed through gentle gestures, but his color palette becomes brighter and the backgrounds more abstract. During this time, his long-term experiences in Europe enriched his multi-dimensional approach to the ancestral themes of maternal love and national culture.
Image 7: “Mother and Baby”, 1966. Oil on canvas. Signed “Vu Cao Dam 66” at the bottom left. 33 x 24 cm.
Still Life with Flowers
Image 8: Still life of a single flower in a red vase, 1941. Ink and color on silk. Signed “Vu Cao Dam 1941” with Chinese characters below on the right. 54 x 43 cm.
Vu Cao Dam painted flowers in relatively small quantities, but his artworks on this subject clearly embody the spirit of East Asia. These works often bear the strong influence of Chinese silk painting techniques in general and flower painting in particular, demonstrating the author’s meticulous study of the subject. He often chose lotus, peony, cherry blossoms, and chrysanthemums for his paintings. Among these, the single flower in “Still Life of a Single Flower in a Red Vase,” according to Asian beliefs, is considered the king of flowers and often became the muse of many great painters.
Vietnamese Poetry
Image 9: “Prayer”, 1966. Oil on canvas. Signed with Chinese characters and date below on the right.
Referring to Vu Cao Dam’s artistic career without mentioning his works influenced by Vietnamese poetry would be a significant omission. With a mastery of both Eastern and Western artistic languages, he frequently painted themes inspired by Dang Tran Con’s “Chinh Phu Ngam” or Nguyen Du’s masterpiece “The Tale of Kieu”. In depicting these works, Vu Cao Dam selected various scenes, sometimes depicting solemn warriors preparing for battle, and other times depicting the scene of a woman bidding farewell to her husband as he departs for war, or Kieu and Kim Trong meeting and pledging their love. This theme later became an important factor in his paintings.
Image 10: “Thuy Kieu and Kim Trong”, 1969. Oil on canvas. Signed “Vu Cao Dam 69” at the bottom right.
In addition to these sources of inspiration in his paintings, he also devoted significant study to the art of “ca tru” singing and botanical themes. However, overall, with each subject he depicted, one can observe the influence of the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures in his works. Nevertheless, his journey of learning technical skills from the West ultimately led him back to the essence of the Vietnamese people. Through a long creative journey in France, he, along with three other painters—Le Thi Luu, Mai Trung Thu, and Le Pho—established a Vietnamese quartet of artists who made an impact in Europe.
Le Quang
