The "Siren of Capri": two charcoal drawings between Rome and the Orient

The Mermaid of Capri, a work by the artist Le Van De, appraised by the firm Gauchet Art Asiatique and sold at auction with the Millon auction house in Vietnam for €3200 in April 2026

There are sheets of paper that seem to have absorbed the very air of a place. This set of two portraits of a woman , in charcoal and white pencil, carries within it something of Capri: a soft light, a silent presence, and that element of myth that the island has cultivated since antiquity. The traditional title, " The Siren of Capri, " is not merely a poetic device: it refers to a work exhibited in Milan in 1934 under the Italian title La Sirena di Capri , of which one of these drawings is believed to be a preparatory study.

Discovered in the late 1970s in the home of Adele X, owner of a Capric guesthouse where Lê Văn Đệ regularly stayed in the 1930s, these portraits tell a story of the circulation of artists, images, and styles between Rome, Capri… and Asia. They fascinate with their apparent simplicity: two faces, two angles, and yet a world.

The lot is presented as unsigned and unattributed in the strict sense. However, its provenance and documentary evidence point to the hand of Lê Văn Đệ (1906–1966) , a major figure in Vietnamese modernism, trained in a context where European academic learning interacted with Asian sensibilities. His career took him to Italy, where he worked for the Vatican, and where he traveled back and forth between Rome and Capri during the 1930s.

During this period, charcoal drawing held a central place: it was the tool for construction, study, and observation. It allowed artists to establish volumes, explore expression, and extract character. For artists trained in Western academic art, portraiture also became a fusion of styles: rigorous proportions and modeled shadows, but also a search for a more restrained, more meditative inner presence.

The fact that one of the drawings is identified as a preparatory study and reproduced in the exhibition booklet of the Galleria Pesaro (Milan), from March 10 to 21, 1934 , under the title " La Sirena Di Capri ", gives the whole a particular density: these sheets are not simple exercises, but fragments of fabrication, as close as possible to the creative process.

The two portraits are done in charcoal enhanced with white pencil on paper, in similar formats: 36.2 x 27.5 cm and 42 x 29 cm . The paper, now patinated, offers a warm tone that acts as a "third color": between the velvety black of the charcoal and the milky accents of the white, it creates a subtle, almost atmospheric range.

The first portrait, a frontal view, is striking for the directness of the gaze. The shadows are applied sparingly: a light modeling around the nose, cheekbones, and mouth, as if the artist were seeking accuracy rather than effect. The wavy hair, typical of the 1930s, is rendered in soft masses, with brushstrokes that suggest more than they describe. The face itself is constructed through delicate transitions, where charcoal becomes powder and white, a breath of fresh air.

The second portrait, a profile, is more narrative: it emphasizes line. The forehead, the bridge of the nose, the curve of the lips and chin create an almost antique silhouette, while white highlights the shoulder and the garment, like studio lighting. The rhythmic curls of the hair lend the profile a sculptural breadth. The grammar of preparatory studies is evident: establishing an angle, testing an identity, finding the iconic image.

As for the iconography suggested by the title "mermaid," it imposes no fantastical attributes. Rather, it acts as a metaphor: the woman of Capri, a figure of seduction and insularity, becomes a modern motif. Here, the mermaid has no fish tail; she is presence itself , and the sea is not painted: it is in the light of the paper.

This diptych of portraits is remarkable first and foremost for its meticulously documented provenance : a discovery in a Capri house linked to the artist's residence, followed by family preservation until its transfer to a private French collection of Italian origin. This type of discreet and continuous trajectory is invaluable for understanding how works on paper circulate and survive.

It is further defined by its grounding in a historical moment : the 1930s, when Asian artists trained in European art constructed a hybrid modernity, blending academicism, a sense of psychological portraiture, and a taste for minimalism. In this context, even the smallest study becomes a document: it reveals the hand, the eye, the method.

Finally, the mention of the Milan exhibition (1934) lends the whole a rare aura: we are not simply faced with two beautiful drawings, but with an echo of an exhibition , a fragment of preparation that connects the intimacy of the studio to the public space of the gallery. “The Siren of Capri” then becomes a bridge-title: between the island and the city, between myth and portrait, between Italy and Asia.

The Gauchet Art Asiatique firm is proud to have been able to authenticate and appraise this work as well as the entire corpus of works presented with the Millon study on the occasion of a sale in Duplex between Hanoi and Paris.