Artist Inguimberty (1896-1971), the familiar name with painting lovers of Vietnam. While artist Victor Tardieu (1870-1937), Nguyễn Nam Sơn (1890-1973) — two artists who were considered in many documents as the role of co – founders of Indochina Fine Arts College, then Inguimberty was always mentioned as a conscientious decorating teacher, with many contributions for educating, building the human source of Vietnam modern art before the August Revolution.
Joseph Inguimberty was born on January 18, 1896 in the beautiful port city Marseille, Mediterranean, the south of France. He passed the exam to enter L’Ecole des Beaux-Art Marseille — Fine Arts College of Marseille in 1910, parallel the major course of architecture. In 1913, Inguimberty was admitted to École Nationale Supérieure des Arts — The National College of Decorative Art. In 1915 to 1918, during the first World War, he enlisted, fighting in an infantry unit. After the war, he returned to the Arts college and won a scholarship to study in the Netherlands in 1920.
While in the Netherlands and Belgium, he painted themes about the lives of workers in the coal mines there. He won the Prix Blumenthal in 1922 and the National Prix for painting in 1924. His fate with Vietnam was on August 13, 1925, when he hold the pen signed a teaching contract at Indochina Fine Arts College, Hanoi by the invitation of artist Victor Tardieu — the college’s first principal… Surely he did not expect that he would stick with Vietnam for more than 20 years, from 1925 to 1946. There, he also met his wife Jeanne Bensa. The couple were married in 1942.
During the years of living, working and teaching at Indochina Fine Arts College, he visited many places in Vietnam. The landscape in his paintings covers most of the provinces from Thua Thien Hue to the North such as Ha Long – Quang Ninh, Hai Phong Port, Duong Lam – Son Tay, Cho Bo – Hoa Binh, Sapa – Lao Cai… Inguimberty was very fond of Vietnamese countryside. He often cycled, explored the village roads around the outskirts of Hanoi, he was fascinated by the flat geographical structure of the North with fresh ponds and lakes and countless green trees under the bright yellow sunlight of the countryside.
