Pivoines et Blueuts is a rare silk work by the Vietnamese-French artist Le Pho of exceptional quality. Early ink and gouache on silk paintings by the artist are rare at auction as the artist shifted his practice to oil painting on silk or canvas during the later half of his career.

Characterised by Impressionist philosophy and Chinese influences such as the blue-and-white China vase and the huang huali table top, the work accentuates a unique blend between Western and Eastern sensitivities that define Le Pho's oeuvre during his Romanet period (1946-1962).

In the present lot, Le Pho, already in Paris, painted blue cornflowers, a flower worn as a symbol of remembrance in France also known as 'bluet de France'. These bright blue florals are a touching and poetic device employed by Le Pho at the end of WWI.

The bouquet holds Le Pho's favoured motif of pearlescent white peonies in full bloom. A symbol of love, beauty, prosperity and good fortune, the peony flower would captivate Le Pho for the rest of his career. Le Pho would continue to revisit this favoured motif, also featuring peonies in the backdrops of some iconic compositions, such as Jeune fille aux pivoines.

Le Pho chooses to use soft, loosely blended brushwork. The artist's move to France allowed him to experiment radically and draw on strong post-Impressionist influences. Le Pho's style here is especially similar to Pierre Auguste Renoir's floral still life works.

An admirer of the post-Impressionist artist Pierre Bonnard, Le Pho is daring with his colors. Pivoineset Blueuts radiates a mesmerizing sense of brilliance owing to the artist's harmonious use of bright colors and contrasting hues.