Đào Sĩ Chu (1909-1974) was a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

painter who studied in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and was known for following the traditional style of the

EBAI The Vietnam University of Fine Arts (formerly ''Hanoi College of Fine Arts'') is an art school in Hanoi, Vietnam originally established in Tonkin under French colonial rule in 1925. The university has trained many of Vietnam's leading artists and ...

school. He was also an organizer of art exhibitions and writer on the history of art.

Early life, education and influences

Đào Sĩ Chu was born on September 20, 1909 (Kỷ Dậu),

Hà Nội Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Việt Nam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, from an intellectual family. His father Đào Huống Mai was an industrialist and one of his sisters was the renowned pre-war poet

Vân Đài Ðào Thị Nguyệt Minh (January 29, 1903 – 1964), known by the pseudonym Vân Ðài, was a Vietnamese poet. Well known as one of Vietnam's primary female poets, Vân Ðài's work is also closely associated with the Resistance during the V ...

, Đào Thị Nguyệt Minh. Finishing his secondary classes in Lycée Albert-Sarraut, his family sent him to study pharmacy at the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (, ) is a community of universities and establishments ( ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the ...

, France and at that time, painting was only his hobby. After graduating as a 1st grade Pharmacist (pharmacien de 1ère classe) in 1939, he had initial contacts with well-known artist painters of

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

such as Trần Bình Lộc, Lê Phổ, and

Tô Ngọc Vân Tô Ngọc Vân (蘇玉雲, 15 December 1906 or 1908 – 17 June 1954), also known as Tô Tử, was a Vietnamese painter. Several of his paintings are being displayed at the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts. He taught a resistance art cla ...

who were graduates of l'

École des beaux arts de l'Indochine The Vietnam University of Fine Arts (formerly ''Hanoi College of Fine Arts'') is an art school in Hanoi, Vietnam originally established in Tonkin under French colonial rule in 1925. The university has trained many of Vietnam's leading artists and ...

(EBAI) for first painting techniques and therefore, he was influenced by the EBAI school.

Career

During his travels in 1949–1951 and visiting many Fine Arts Museums in

, he devoted himself to fine arts and determined to study painting in a private workshop. His first exhibition with Lê Bá Đảng was at Vibaud Galerie and his paintings received appreciative comments from the art magazines ''Les Ponts des Arts'' and ''Le Cri de Paris'' for his color composition and portrait skills. Heartened by his initial success, his other paintings were exhibited consecutively at

Grand Palais The (; ), commonly known as the , is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, France. Construction of the began in 1897 following the demolitio ...

and

Salon des Artistes Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

in Paris where he was a member of the

Société des Artistes Indépendants The Société des Artistes Indépendants (, ''Society of Independent Artists'') or Salon des Indépendants was formed in Paris on 29 July 1884. The association began with the organization of massive exhibitions in Paris, choosing the slogan "''sa ...

. Back in Viêt Nam, he set up his private and permanent exhibition room Liên Hương in

for his colleagues paintings and often participated in other exhibitions organised in the Opera House of Hà Nội. Awarded the Golden Medal at the

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

Exhibition in 1955, he was appointed to be the Chairman of the National Cultural Conference(1957) for promoting the next cultural movements and events as the annual Spring Painting Award (1959) and then, the First International Exhibition of Fine Arts of Sàigòn (October 1962) of which he was Delegate and Secretary General. In an interview, he said "Art should be a creation. Although, there are many tendencies in

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...

and

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, I believe that the future will belong to Cubism, non-figurative and abstracts arts, however I prefer realism-impressionism oil painting". His typical oil painting of

Thủ Đức Thủ Đức ʰu˨˩˦:ɗɨk˧˥is a sub-municipality in Ho Chi Minh City of the Southestern region of Vietnam. History The oldest name what was recorded in this area was Ngãi An (義安), a district-level administrative unit has existed sin ...

landscape was printed on March page in the Calendar 1959 of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

of Information Service (USIS). From the years 1960 to 1970, he was Professor of the École supérieure des Beaux Arts de Gia Định. He served as Professor and Fine Arts Advisor of Minh Đức Catholic University until his death in

on June 16, 1974 (Giáp Dần).

Critics and tributes

After 1975, his theories were criticized by Nguyễn Phi Hoanh, artist painter (1904–2001), a graduate of l'École des beaux arts of Toulouse, author of the book Mỹ Thuật Việt Nam (Fine Arts of Viêt Nam), published by Nhà Xuất Bản Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh in November 1984. In the late 1990s, two exhibitions were organized by two private galleries of Trương Văn Ý and Bùi Quốc Chí of Đức Minh VN Collection for famous painters of Việt Nam, including some of Đào Sĩ Chu's paintings. April 2002, his painting ''Young Girl Feeding Chicken'' (1974) appeared in an auction sale of

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

Singapore. A second auction was organised in France in October, 2009, including one Đào Sï Chu painting, ''Jeune Femme Pensive'' (painted in 1962). In the

Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts The Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts (; ) is located in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a museum showcasing Vietnam's fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, di ...

, among the contemporary arts, there are nine Dao Si Chu paintings. From October 2014, a painting of Đào Sĩ Chu could be seen at the

Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts () is the major art museum of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and second in the country only to the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts in Hanoi. The museum covers three three-floor buildings which house a colle ...

Original sketches and painting of ''Young Girl Feeding Chicken''

This painting was executed by Đào Sĩ Chu in December 1968 and the one in Sotheby's Catalogue April 2002 is only a version which also painted by himself in 1974 as some gifts for his close friends. The face of the young girl is his niece Mai (Đào Lê Như Mai). File:Sketch of niece Mai pencil paper 16x21.JPG File:Sketch of Young girl feeding chicken pencil paper 16x21.JPG

Musician

He was also a musician during the commencement period (1930–1940) of the First Modern Vietnamese Songs in

. Most of his songs which were recorded in

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

's disks 78rpm, could be lost after the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

. Except his four songs in 2 disks PA 2854 (S) and PA 2856 (S) which are Gió Thu (Autumn Breeze), Cố Hương (Nostalgia of the Native Land), Phụ Nữ Viêt Nam (Vietnamese Women) and Trong Sương (In the Mist), could be listened to online: Among the above writing music pieces, during the First Republic of Viet Nam, the Phụ Nữ was an official march for the celebration of Trưng Sisters' Day and Vietnamese Women Day in 1957 and The Hoàng Hôn was played by the Little Orchestra of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in the

Botanic garden in spring 1959. However he mostly concentrated on fine arts and was more successful in this field. Although the long-lasting

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

could involve him in some influences Cultures at War: The Cold War and cultural expression in Southeast Asia.
/ref> and in spite of some critics and accusations, Đào Sĩ Chu is a true artist until his last days.

Notes and references

External links

* *
The First International Exhibition of Fine Arts of Saigon (October 1962)

Mỹ thuật Việt Nam – Nguyễn-Phi-Hoanh – Google Books * http://www.blouinartinfo.com/artists/47256—dao-si-chu

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dao, Si Chu 1909 births 1974 deaths 20th-century Vietnamese painters Vietnamese expatriates in France Artists from Hanoi