December 10, 2020
When learning about Vietnamese painting, especially about modern art, we often hear about four outstanding people as “Nhat Tri, Hai Van, Tam Lan, Qua cẩn” or the second generation four-pillar group including “Nghiem – Lien – Morning – Faction”. Who are they? What are the most famous artists in Vietnam? This article will tell you more about Vietnamese painters, whose names reach out to the world
.1. Nguyen Gia Tri (1908–1993)
Known as “the father of modern lacquer paintings of Vietnam”, Nguyen Gia Tri is the one who sets the foundations of modern Vietnamese art (Nhat Tri). He was the first person to convert lacquer paintings from decorations into artistic works. Gia Tri has left behind a beautiful lacquered religious, classical, because he is the only one who has discovered the soul of traditional lacquer, making it no longer trivial but snobbish, noble. The beauty of the young woman in his paintings is described as the image of the desire for freedom, dreams. Although not recognized as a National Treasure, all of his works appear to have been implicitly considered treasures and banned from bringing these out of Vietnam.
The work “Central South North Spring garden” has achieved many records: the largest size, coordination of many traditional materials and was purchased by the state at the highest price (100,000 USD, equivalent to 600 million VND at that time). It is a work made from 9 pieces of plank, composed by artist Nguyen Gia Tri for nearly 20 years and also his last work.
Artistic style: He was the first person to convert lacquer paintings from decorations into artistic works and has since been known as “the father of modern Vietnamese lacquer paintings”. He coordinated the engraving with new lacquer methods, and applied the rule of Western painting structure, to create modern national paintings.
Main works: Young women in the garden, Central South North Spring Garden, Young Women with confederate rose.
Lacquer work “Central South North Spring Garden” by Nguyen Gia Tri.
“Young women with confederate rose”
2. To Ngoc Van (1906-1954)
Stage name: To Tu
In the list of four outstanding artists, “Nhi Van” is to say To Ngoc Van. Painter To Ngoc Van is a proud painter in Vietnam’s art village, his name is also given to a street in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City. He has left behind his outstanding works, which get recognition internationally.
The masterpiece “Young Woman by the Lily” was composed by To Ngoc Van in 1943, when he was teaching at the Indochinese College of Fine Arts. “Young woman by the Lily” describes the girl in the white ao dai leaning her head gracefully, elin towards the jar of white lilies. The girl’s body combined with the details and colors around her form a simple cube, exuding a gentle sadness. Unfortunately, this masterpiece is now lost to nowhere. The painting “Two Female and a Baby” was officially recognized as a National Treasure in 2013, and the painting is currently on display at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.
Artistic style: To Ngoc Van is considered to be the first person to use oil paint in Vietnam. Through technique, he tried to express the beauty of contemporary Vietnamese charm, typically portraits of young women.
Main works: Young women by lily, Two Female and a baby, Young women with lotus..
Oil painting “Young women by lily” by To Ngoc Van.
Painting “Two Female and a Baby” by To Ngoc Van.
3. Nguyen Tuong Lan (1906-1946)
He is one of the four famous painters of the early period of Vietnamese art: “Nhat Tri, Hai Van, Tam Lan, Qua Cẩn”. Because of the war, there was not much information and material left about Nguyen Tuong Lan, his paintings also were left with very little. He is considered one of the few contemporary painters capable of bringing pure colors into a fictional, symbolic, simple and courteous harmony, including for silk paintings. As early as the 1940s, with the liberal rhythm of the large pen streaks running on the decorative scheme, Nguyen Tuong Lan soon broke the way to go to abstract art style.
After graduation, he opened a studio in Hanoi. He mastered most materials from oil paint, lacquer, silk to wood carving, pigment … Although many works are composed, the remaining number is counted only on the fingertips. Perhaps that’s why his place in the four outstanding artists group is quite faint, fragile, even though he is a talented Painter of Vietnam.
Artistic style: Mastering most of the oil paint, lacquer, silk, wood carving, pigment, charcoal, Nguyen Tuong Lan has composed many works, however, so far, very few of his works remain.
Main works: Mountain Market, Hien Ve hoa, A Couple
Painting “A couple” by Artist Nguyen Tuong Lan.
Nguyen Tuong Lan’s paintings illustrate the verse “Who’s moon split in half”.
4. Tran Van Cẩn (1910 – 1994)
As the fourth person on the list of four outstanding artists in Vietnamese painting (Tu Can), Tran Van Can has left the country’s fine arts with typical works, high value in art and rich in humanity.
“Sister Thuy” is an oil painting composed by Tran Van Can in 1944. It can be said that it is the pinnacle of Tran Van Can art and also the pinnacle of Vietnamese art. With a genuine, gentle, unpretentious, exaggerated expression, Tran Van Can has grasped and preserved the viewer with innocent, pure beauty. He was not interested in the school when drawing, but only raised the soul of the character.
Artistic style: He is also one of the few artists who has experimented with many different materials, genres and materials, every genre has successful works. He is also one of the leading artists in experimenting and creating from ta paint to make lacquer paintings, making lacquer into a famous painting material, bearing the artistic characteristics of Vietnamese national painting.
Main work: Sister Thuy
Painting “Sister Thuy” by Tran Van Can.
Oil painting “The sea female militia” by Tran Van Can.
5. Nguyen Tu Nghiem (1922-2016)
Nguyen Tu Nghiem is also a rare painter of Vietnamese fine arts having his own museum, located at 90 B2 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem District. Art critics at that time used to see paintings of painter Nguyen Tu Nghiem combined modern style with classical thinking, creating his own identity. Lines, colors, rhythm, atmosphere are always styled, based on Dong Son drum motifs, Ly Tran pottery pattern, folk statues, pagoda architecture, paddle rhythm, traditional arts. The technique of forming, whether modern and stylized, still evokes the national beliefs – and the cultures of neighboring Southeast Asia.
Artistic style: Nguyen Tu Nghiem’s strongest material is traditional lacquer but not grinding, and later is coloring matter, dó paper .Common themes in his paintings are classical dances, Thanh Giong, Kieu, and animal designation. His favorite color is the color of Vietnamese folk.
Main works: The classical dance, Guom Lake in spring, 12 animal designations
Painting of “Guom Lake in Spring” by Nguyen Tu Nghiem.
Coloring matter painting “12 animal designations ” by Nguyen Tu Nghiem.
6. Duong Bich Lien (1924-1988)
Duong Bich Lien does not mean to store his creations. When he died, he wanted to burn all the paintings. Today his work left behind is hundreds of paintings, mostly stored by friends who cherish him and cherish it.
“The Trench” is the work of Duong Bich Lien currently in the collection of Mr. Ngo Tan Trong Nghia, owner of the famous Gallery Apricot of Hang Gai Street. The painting is set in 1972, the period when the U.S. bombed the fiercest down. When looking at this painting on the subject of revolutionary warfare, one is seen portrayed with the inner state of the artist, it is bleak and cold. The soldiers who are entering the trenches seem to accept fate. The painting was adventured through the hands of many people (including writer Nguyen Hong, writer To Hoai), until it was sold to overseas Vietnamese painting merchant in Singapore, Mr. Ha Thu Can, with 15,000 USD. In the end, it went to the owner of Apricot Gallery, but he also did not reveal the price.
Artistic style: Duong Bich Lien has been researching world art styles and trends. All materials are shown smoothly, uniquely, super escape especially in the genres of lacquer, oil paint, striving and graphite. He was well biased towards portrait painting, very famous for his young women. He was particularly successful with his work on portraits of young women. It is often said that “Pho Phai, Girl Lien” to mention that when viewing street paintings, it is recommended to see paintings by Bui Xuan Phai. While watching paintings of young women,Duong Bich Lien’s works are the most beautiful.
Main works: Uncle Ho in The Viet Bac War Zone, Golden Afternoon
Pastel painting “The Trench” by Duong Bich Lien.
Oil painting “Ms. Mai” by Duong Bich Lien.
7. Nguyen Sang (1923-1988)
Nguyen Sang is one of the best artists in Vietnamese lacquer, making many typical contributions to modern Vietnamese painting. He successfully exploited modern European art, but still not far from Vietnamese folk and traditional art. His art is a harmonious combination of modernity and the quintessence of the nation.
He was also honored to design the first set of postage stamps of independent Vietnam, issued in 1946, to show a portrait of President Ho Chi Minh. This is the first time that the pure stamp of our country carries the words “Vietnam” along with the image of the leader who founded the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Artistic style: Nguyen Sang uses his drawings to serve the resistance of the nation. In addition, he painted on many different topics, such as women and flowers, the beautiful scenery is both ancient and splendid of the pagoda, the scenery of the mountains and forests is dark but majestic, the countryside scene is idyllic, gentle, the scenery captures folk games.
Main works: Admitting to the Communist Party in Dien Bien Phu
The stamp set commemorates the 59th anniversary of Uncle Ho’s birth designed by Nguyen Sang.
Lacquer painting “Admitting to the Communist Party in Dien Bien Phu” by Nguyen Sang.
8. Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1988)
Bui Xuan Phai is the most famous painter in Vietnam for street paintings. His street paintings are both ancient and very real, clearly expressing the core of Hanoi’s old town in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The color patches in Phai’s paintings often have a bold border. The street not only becomes itself but also closer to people, from the surface to the landscape has depth inside. In addition to the old town, he also painted other topics, such as rowing, portraits, countryside, nudity, still life … very successfully.
With bright colors, interesting drawings associated with Vietnamese villages have always followed him throughout his life as an artist, creating a passion for painting from a young age. In his creative career, Bui Xuan Phai has painted many different genres, many portraits, landscapes, activities, reflecting quite lively and true stages of the nation. Bui Xuan Phai’s paintings are in his own style and leave special marks in the Vietnamese art landscape. But the topic of Hanoi Old Quarter is the topic he has been attached to for more than 40 years. Because it is a place containing many happy memories, ups and downs of his life.
Artistic style: He specializes in oil painting materials, passionate about the topic of Hanoi Old Town. From the very beginning, his creation was admired by the viewers to call this line of paintings Street.
Main works: Hanoi Old Quarter, Hanoi Resistance, Cart in the old town …
Oil painting: Hanoi Old Quarter
9. Nguyen Phan Chanh (1892-1984)
He is a man who has created an unmistakable appearance of Vietnamese silk paintings which does not mix with any countries having the largest silk paintings landscapes in the world, such as China and Japan. Nguyen Phan Chanh’s silk paintings are full of love for working people, especially the image of women and mother and child is shown much in his work. Nguyen Phan Chanh’s success is due to his knowledge of combining traditional drawing with the basic scientific knowledge of European painting.
Artistic style: He was the first to bring glory to Vietnamese silk paintings. He is considered an eclectic of Western forming methods and oriental silk paintings.
Main works: Playing Mandarin Square Capturing, Tien Dung and Chu Dong Tu, After the fighting…
Painting “Playing Mandarin Square Capturing ” by Nguyen Phan Chanh.
Painting “Rice Seller” painted by Nguyen Phan Chanh is sold for $390,000.
10. Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000)
Many of his sculptures are considered exemplary of modern Vietnamese sculpture, including two that are now preserved in the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum as “Portraits” and “Young Women with a comb.” Living in France, composing combining East and West ideology with Vietnamese themes, Vu Cao Dam’s work has early found a foothold in the international market. Vu Cao Dam’s paintings show the influence of southern French art – the peak of impressionism. With interesting compositions, combining traditional Eastern art and Western painting, Vu Cao Dam has contributed to enhancing the status of Vietnamese artists with international friends.
In 1946, when President Ho visited France, Vu Cao Dam came to greet and ask for shaping the statue of him. He was the first and only overseas Vietnamese artist to be made the Statue of him..
Artistic style: He is famous for his sculptures, silk paintings, oil paintings.
Main works: Young Women with a comb, Portraits, Uncle Ho
11. Le Pho (1907-2001)
Le Pho is a master painter of Vietnam and in the world, in a post-impressionist school with many expensive works. He is also known as “Vietnamese painter in France” and is considered as one of the most outstanding artists in Vietnamese art and painting villages. His works often get the highest price in the world art market for a Vietnamese painter.
Artistic style: The main material is oil and silk paint. The main theme is flowers, dreamy, noble women.
Main works: Nostalgia, Kim Van Kieu, Purple Curtain, Young Woman, Young Woman by Orchids, Still Life, Paysage du Tonkin, Peony Vase, Mother’s Heart, Beauty in white
Le Pho’s painting “Nostalgia” has a selling price of about 222,325 USD.
Oil painting “View from the Top of the Hill” by Le Pho sold for 840,000USD.
The paintings of the above-mentioned artists are invaluable, either on display in the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, or have been auctioned at very high prices. If one day you suddenly find some lost picture of the above, you will surely be able to get rich quickly!
Source: Internet Synthesis