Mai Trung Thu's "Mona Lisa" (left) and Le Pho's "The girl with a scarf" (right) (Photo: VNA)

Le Pho's silk painting "Mère et enfant, fond fleurs" (Mother and child on a flower background) is valued at 213,000-320,000 USD. The work was a mixture of both European religious art and Vietnamese art styles. The characters' facial features in the painting are full and kind, made elegant by a background of peony flowers. 

The other three works being auctioned were created by master artist Mai Trung Thu and originally collected by French medic Hervé Kernevez. One of the paintings, "Les deux soeurs" (Two sisters) valued at 106,000-160,000 USD was completed in 1945 and describes the sisterhood bonding of two young women.