Celso-Léon Lê Văn Đệ (24 August 1906 – 16 March 1966) was a South Vietnamese painter who designed the South Vietnamese flag.

Early life and education

A Roman Catholic, he was born in Mỏ Cày,

Bến Tre Bến Tre () is the provincial capital of Bến Tre Province, in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. Located southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, the city covers an area of 65.75 km2 (25.39 sq mi) and has a population of 124,499 at ...

, and was in charge of Asian Arts at the International Exhibition of Catholic Press at Vatican in 1936. He established the École supérieure nationale des Beaux Arts in Saigon.

Career

Some of his works have been shown at the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts, Hanoi. Others are exhibited in Europe. A wall panel, ''Mater Amabilis and Saint Magdalene at the food of the cross'' was on show at the Missionaria Arte museum at the Vatican. In 1930, he received a scholarship from the “Society for the Intellectual and Physical Improvement of the Indigenous People of Cochinchina” to study at the Beaux-Arts in Paris as a student of

Jean-Pierre Laurens Jean-Pierre Laurens (18 March 1875, Paris23 April 1932, Fontenay-aux-Roses) was a French painter; primarily of figures and portraits. Biography He was the youngest son of the painter, Jean-Paul Laurens. His older brother, Paul Albert Laurens ...

(1875-1932). The latter had welcomed two years earlier

Fang Ganmin Fang Ganmin ( zh, s=方干民, t=方幹民; 15 February 1906 - January 1984) was a Chinese French-trained painter, sculptor and educator, who was educated in Paris and spent most of his adult life in China. Regarded as one of the pioneers of Ch ...

(1906-1984) who returned to China to become an influential teacher (notably of

Zao Wou-Ki Zao Wou-Ki (; 1 February 1920 – 9 April 2013) was a Chinese-French Painting, painter. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Zao Wou-Ki graduated from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he studied under French-tra ...

, Chu Teh Chun and

Wu Guanzhong Wu Guanzhong (; 29 August 1919 – 25 June 2010) was a contemporary Chinese painter widely recognized as a founder of modern Chinese painting. He is considered to be one of the greatest contemporary Chinese painters. Wu's artworks display both ...

). He was in Paris when Fang fell in love with Sue Ailan (1905-1985) whom he met at the Beaux-Arts in the Humbert studio (the only one authorized to receive female students) and whom he would marry on his return to China. Lé Van Dé was noticed in 1932 and 1933 during the Salon Officiel des Artistes Français (Paris) and obtained an “honorable mention”. In 1934, the French government bought from him a large canvas (179 × 225 cm) “''The family interior in Tonkin”'' which he exhibited at the International Exhibition of Colonial Art in Naples. He died in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

References

1906 births 1966 deaths 20th-century Vietnamese painters Flag designers Vietnamese Roman Catholics People from Bến Tre province {{Vietnam-painter-stub