Peonies and Irises
Lê Phổ
1958
- YEAR:1958
- MEDIUM:Oil on silk
- DIMENSIONS:92.5 × 69.5 cm
Introduction
Lê Phổ is one of the most outstanding Vietnamese artists of the 20th century, known for his floral and female-themed paintings. He successfully blended Chinese and Vietnamese traditional painting with Western Impressionism and Surrealism. Peonies and Irises is another of Lê Phổ’s silk oil paintings. Compared to Still Life, this piece has a heavier texture, merging the bright colours and lively brushstrokes of Impressionism. The artist uses dynamic colour blocks and delicate lines to sketch the trembling leaves at the ends of the branches. The artist intricately shapes the blue-and-white porcelain vase, which has a distinct Eastern flavour, and the peony, unique to China, as a poetic expression of his reverence for Eastern traditional culture.
