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Lê Phổ — Le Pho 黎譜 | The three bathers 三位浴者
Lê Phổ

Le Pho 黎譜 | The three bathers 三位浴者

1938

Le Pho's "The Three Bathers" exemplifies the artist's sophisticated synthesis of Vietnamese and French artistic traditions through its delicate application of ink and gouache on silk. The composition depicts three female figures in an intimate moment of bathing, rendered with graceful linework and subtle color harmonies that reflect the influence of both traditional East Asian painting and modern Western aesthetics. This work showcases Le Pho's mastery of the demanding silk medium and his characteristic ability to convey quiet elegance and psychological introspection through simplified forms and restrained tonality.

Medium
ink and gouache on silk
Signed
Yes
Location
Sotheby's, New York, NY

🔨 Auction Lot

Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction

March 29, 2026

Estimate: $4,800,000 to $6,800,000

Lot 46

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Artists in conversation

Vu Cao Dam

Vietnamese · b. 1908

A contemporary of Le Pho who trained at the same Ecole des Beaux Arts de l'Indochine, Vu Cao Dam similarly painted intimate female figures using ink and gouache on silk, blending Vietnamese delicacy with French modernist sensibility in soft, harmonious tones.

Mai Thu

Vietnamese · b. 1906

Mai Thu created serene figurative works on silk depicting Vietnamese women in quiet, intimate moments, sharing Le Pho's graceful linework, muted color palette, and the same East Asian and French academic fusion that defines this bathing composition.

Helene Carre

French · b. 1879

Carre produced intimiste paintings of bathing and grooming female figures rendered with soft color harmonies and gentle, flowing contours that closely parallel the serene mood and figurative treatment seen in Le Pho's three bathers composition.

About this work

Lê Phổ, Le Pho 黎譜 | The three bathers 三位浴者, 1938

Le Pho's "The Three Bathers" exemplifies the artist's sophisticated synthesis of Vietnamese and French artistic traditions through its delicate application of ink and gouache on silk. The composition depicts three female figures in an intimate moment of bathing, rendered with graceful linework and subtle color harmonies that reflect the influence of both traditional East Asian painting and modern Western aesthetics. This work showcases Le Pho's mastery of the demanding silk medium and his characteristic ability to convey quiet elegance and psychological introspection through simplified forms and restrained tonality.

Medium
ink and gouache on silk
Year
1938
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Sotheby's, New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris

Related themes

Vietnamese Artist, 20th Century, Intimate Subject Matter, Soft Color Palette, Modern Art, Figurative Style, Serene Aesthetic, Figure Painting, Bathing figures, Oil on Canvas

More works by Lê Phổ

Similar artists

Vu Cao Dam, Mai Thu, Helene Carre