LE PHO (b. Vietnam 1907)

The painting which was also titled Beaut fragile which is translated as Frail beauty was inspired by the celebrated beauty of the sitter, Dung, who was considered the most beautiful woman of her time in Hanoi. Indeed, the refine elegance and beauty of the sitter transmitted a delicate sense of fragility which epitomized the ideal form of Vietnamese beauty.

Dung, the sitter was married to a doctor in Hanoi. A work of the artist using the media of charcoal and chalk on paer is very rare.