Impressed with sketches and "Song of Unification"

Last week, among the many artistic activities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification, the art exhibition with the theme "Song of Reunification" (taking place from April 25 to May 5) made a special impression on many people. The attraction and influence of this exhibition was not only due to its location in Thong Nhat Park (Hanoi), which is easily accessible to the public, but also because among the works introduced were many battlefield sketches made by the artists - soldiers themselves at the scene more than half a century ago.

Hà Nội Mới•10/05/2025

The exhibition gathered many artists, both those who worked during the war and those who created in peacetime, with many genres of paintings such as oil, acrylic, lacquer, sketches... But it seems that works created during the war have greater appeal, especially sketches created at "fire coordinates". Like artist Pham Ngoc Lieu, who spent a period of time creating in one of the most fierce places in the early 1970s - the B5 battlefield, Quang Tri - Vinh Linh area. The days accompanying the liaison, information troops and officers and soldiers on the front line provided the young artist at that time with a source of emotions for him to "shorthand" what he felt and felt obliged to record truthfully.

A sketch of the Quang Tri battlefield in 1973 by artist Pham Ngoc Lieu is displayed at the exhibition.

What has happened with resistance painting, through “Song of Unification”, once again shows the power of the sketch genre, whether it is charcoal, iron pen, metal pen, watercolor, felt-tip pen. Resistance sketches were born during the war, popular in resistance life because of the flexibility of tools, forms of expression and the ability to quickly, accurately, and emotionally preserve the fight for independence and freedom as well as the image of revolutionary soldiers... It is a special art treasure, as the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts alone has a collection of more than 3,000 sketches created on the battlefield, which not only need to be well preserved but also need to be widely introduced to viewers nationwide, especially the young generation.

Regarding the above mentioned promotional goal, an “open” exhibition like “Song of Unification” on the occasion of the whole country's joy is an organization that can be replicated.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/an-tuong-voi-ky-hoa-va-bai-ca-thong-nhat-701779.html