Vu Cao Dam | 武高談

Hotel Drouot, Paris, Etude Binoche, 17th February 1995, lot 78.

Collection of Christian Duc (1947-2013).

European Private Collection (acquired from the above).

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巴黎德魯奧，Binoche拍賣，1995年2月17日，編號78

Christian Duc 收藏 (1947-2013) （購自上述來源）

歐洲私人收藏（購自上述來源）

Laurin Isabelle, Revue de la Société des Amis du musée national de Céramique n°17, 'Sèvres, années 30. Une exposition sur la séduction des matières', 2008. pp. 147-153, pl. 14.

Vũ Cao Đàm, Gent, 2024, pp. 38-39.

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Laurin Isabell（2008年），〈塞夫爾三零年代，媒材之誘惑力〉，國立陶瓷博物館之友，17期，頁147-153，圖版14

《Vũ Cao Đàm 》，根特，2024年，頁38-39

Vũ Cao Đàm may be recognized for his paintings of romantic scenes of women and children in serene landscapes, or of the dreamlike paintings of men riding on horses, the artist was first and foremost a sculptor. Displaying an extraordinary talent as a sculptor at an early stage, Vũ Cao Đàm entered the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Indochine in 1926 and stood out for his gift for modelling and understanding of three dimensionality. Unlike Lê Phổ and Mai Trung Thứ who focused on two-dimensional painting and mediums, Vũ worked across various mediums and only focused on painting mid-career.

At only 23 years old, Vũ Cao Đàm was selected to participate in the important 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition that showcased the best products of the French established Ecole des Beaux-arts. The principal at the time, Victor Tardieu, selected seven of Vũ Cao Đàm’s sculptures to display. Vũ’s sculptures were widely celebrated in the French press and among art critics. Vũ Cao Đàm then studied in Paris at the Ecole de Louvre between 1932-34 and submitted further sculptural works to the Salon des Artistes Francais, including portrait busts of the Vietnamese Emperor Bao Dai and a monumental Buddha image. His reputation as a sculpture led him to numerous commissions of important individuals.

In 1934, Vũ Cao Đàm signed a contract with the renowned Manufacture de Sèvres to produce an edition of a ceramic bust titled Bust of a Young Indo-Chinese Man. This piece is similar to an earlier bronze version of the same subject, which had debuted at the 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition. The bronze bust is documented in Victor Tardieu’s official organizational report on the École des Beaux-Arts’ participation at the exhibition (INHA Victor Tardieu Archive, 125/7).

武高談雖以描繪婦孺於靜謐景致中之浪漫情景，或騎馬男子的夢幻構圖著稱，然其藝術生涯之初，其實以雕塑為本。早於青年時期即展現非凡之雕塑才能，武氏於1926年考入河內中南半島美術學院，即以優異之立體造型能力與對三維空間的敏銳理解脫穎而出。有別於專注平面媒材的黎譜與梅中栨，武氏自始即涉獵多種媒材，至職業生涯中期方轉而專注於繪畫創作。

1931年，年僅23歲的武高談入選參加巴黎殖民地博覽會，代表法屬中南半島美術學院參展。時任校長維克多・塔迪歐（Victor Tardieu）特選其七件雕塑作品，參展後廣獲法國藝術評論界與新聞媒體之讚譽。1932至1934年間，武氏進入巴黎羅浮宮學院進修，並持續於法國藝術家沙龍展出多件雕塑創作，涵蓋越南皇帝保大帝之半身像與一尊紀念性佛陀形像，進一步奠定其在雕塑界之聲譽，並獲多位名流委託製作肖像。

1934年，武高談與法國著名的塞夫勒製瓷廠（Manufacture de Sèvres）簽訂合約，製作「中南半島少年像」的陶瓷雕塑版本。此作品與他先前創作的一件相同主題的鑄銅版本相似，該銅像曾於1931年巴黎殖民地博覽會上首次亮相，見塔迪歐撰《巴黎國際殖民博覽會中南半島美術學校官方報告》，INHA 檔案編號125/7。