The image of Uncle Ho in the works of Nam Dinh artists

The image of Uncle Ho - his life and revolutionary career has always been an endless source of inspiration for Nam Dinh artists to incorporate into their works. From wartime to peacetime, artists: Duong Duc Dien, Vu Minh, Le Duc Biet, Dang Son Nam, Nguyen Van Duc... have created many works of value in content, ideology and art. Through simple, realistic and familiar strokes, each work of the artists has expressed sacred feelings, respect and deep gratitude for President Ho Chi Minh - the great leader of the Vietnamese people.

The work "Uncle Ho visits Yen Tien commune" by artist Vu Minh.

Painter Duong Duc Dien is over 80 years old this year and has been working in art for nearly 60 years with hundreds of propaganda paintings serving the political tasks of the province. Among dozens of paintings of Uncle Ho, there are some famous works that he is fond of, associated with historical events of his homeland. Typical are the large-sized painting "Uncle Ho is still with us" (1967) erected at Cua Dong intersection; the portrait of Uncle Ho (1975) erected at Hoa Binh Square; the painting "Uncle Ho visits the Textile Factory" (1984); the ceramic portrait of President Ho Chi Minh (2000); the painting "Uncle Ho visits the Textile Factory Kindergarten" (2003); Propaganda painting of Uncle Ho's portrait (2004) erected on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Nam Dinh city (July 1, 1954 - July 1, 2004)... Artist Duong Duc Dien's paintings of Uncle Ho are expressed in a variety of materials such as: colored powder on paper, colored powder on panels, oil on canvas, composite wood carvings, colored ceramic mosaics... The propaganda painting "Uncle Ho is still with us" made the name of artist Duong Duc Dien. In the years 1968, 1972, the period when Nam Dinh city was fiercely bombed and shelled by American planes; During this time, the propaganda posters of artist Duong Duc Dien were erected at the Cua Dong intersection (Nam Dinh city) with the image of the beloved leader of the nation and the slogan "Uncle Ho is still with us" which contributed to strongly encouraging the fighting, working and production spirit of the people of Thanh Nam in the resistance war against the US to save the country. The portrait of Uncle Ho (1975) by the artist hung at Hoa Binh Square (Nam Dinh city) on the occasion when the city's people were joyful and happy on the great festival of the country, the Liberation of the South, the reunification of the country (April 30, 1975) was loved by viewers. Artist Duong Duc Dien shared: "Through the 5 times Uncle Ho visited Nam Dinh, the stories about Uncle always brought great feelings and emotions to the people of his hometown. In particular, Uncle always had affectionate feelings for the children...". Therefore, in 2003, he painted the picture "Uncle Ho Visits the Textile Factory Kindergarten" which clearly depicts the image of Uncle Ho visiting and encouraging teachers and children, thereby expressing his feelings for children and the joy, gratitude, love and respect everyone has for Uncle Ho. The passion in the paintings of artist Duong Duc Dien about Uncle Ho along with profound and meaningful prefaces with the desire to arouse in the hearts of every citizen national pride, belief in the day the country regained independence, so that the younger generation can remember the great merits of the previous generation, creating the internal strength of the whole society in the work of building and protecting the homeland and the country.

Painter Vu Minh has also been successful with the propaganda painting genre; in particular, the theme of Uncle Ho has appeared in more than a dozen of his paintings. At the age of 79, painter Vu Minh has experienced the resistance war against the US and participated in propaganda work at the Cultural House of Nam Dinh Textile Joint Stock Company, then worked as an art lecturer at Nam Dinh College of Culture and Arts (now Nam Dinh College of Culture, Arts and Tourism). Painter Vu Minh said: “Uncle Ho is an outstanding leader of the nation, a shining example of morality and lifestyle. Therefore, the image of Uncle Ho always occupies a solemn position in my creative career”. Most of painter Vu Minh's paintings about Uncle Ho are mainly expressed in oil paint and pigment; Typical works include: "Citizen Number One", "Uncle Ho with Textile Factory Workers", "Uncle Ho Visits the Textile Museum", "Uncle Ho Visits Yen Tien Commune", "Ho Chi Minh - World Cultural Celebrity"...; some of which have been displayed at regional and national art exhibitions. The propaganda painting "Citizen Number One" was painted by artist Vu Minh in 1998 using colored powder, with clear lines, depicting Uncle Ho voting on the day of the national National Assembly election. The propaganda painting on the theme of Uncle Ho was created by artist Vu Minh in 2000 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Party's founding (February 3, 1930 - February 3, 2000). The painting has the image of Uncle Ho above and the words "70 years of the glorious Communist Party of Vietnam ", in the middle is the hammer and sickle symbol, below is the industrial infrastructure (factories, enterprises, high voltage electricity...). The painting mixes two colors, red and yellow (the colors of the national flag), showing the determination, unity, and solidarity of the Vietnamese people in carrying out the country's renovation. The work also won the Encouragement Prize in the National Propaganda Painting Competition in 2000. The painting "Uncle Ho with Textile Factory Workers" was painted by him in 2005 using oil paint with the colors: yellow, blue, brown, white; the central character is Uncle Ho in a simple outfit, a familiar brown shirt, standing watching the fabrics being woven to send to the South; surrounding Uncle Ho are his secretary, Labor Hero Nguyen Thi Thac and 4 factory workers with radiant faces when they first met Uncle Ho. The work "Uncle Ho Visits the Textile Museum" painted by artist Vu Minh in 2010 recreates the image of Uncle Ho wearing a white khaki suit, standing looking at the documents displayed at the Textile Factory Museum; behind Uncle are 2 factory workers; Above is the Party flag and the words "Communist Party of Indochina". The paintings of Uncle Ho associated with the Nam Dinh Textile Factory by artist Vu Minh are his personal corner. Through his works, artist Vu Minh wishes to convey to the public about the production process and the life of factory workers - the place that preserves the artist's youthful memories. Although he has never met Uncle Ho, the artist's paintings of Uncle Ho are very realistic. They are not only the result of artistic creativity, but also the result of the process of researching documents and images about Uncle Ho's life and career, from which he inspired emotions to visualize and express Uncle Ho through specific and profound strokes.

Dang Son Nam is a painter with a passion for themes such as landscapes, festivals, etc. He also loves propaganda paintings because of their simple, general layout that clearly shows the graphic quality and color. The propaganda painting about Uncle Ho that he is most fond of and is known to many people is the painting "Uncle Ho with children". The painting was first painted in 1990 using colored powder on 60x80cm paper, with a clear layout with the image of Uncle Ho with a radiant face holding the hands of children wearing bright red scarves. The image of Uncle Ho and the children stands out on a dark blue background. Behind is an image of the globe with doves - a symbol of peace; below are verses from the poem "Uncle Ho!" by poet To Huu: "Uncle is as happy as the dawn/ Happy with every young shoot, ripe fruit on the branch/ Happy with the song that harmonizes with the four seas/ Cherishing everything, forgetting only himself". The painting “Uncle Ho with Children” by artist Dang Son Nam is one of 100 works of art selected nationwide to be displayed at the Ho Chi Minh Museum on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 1990). In 2015, artist Dang Son Nam continued to repaint the painting “Uncle Ho with Children”. This time, he chose oil paint to depict the painting but still ensured the original color, proportion, and size as the previous painting. Also in that year, the painting was selected to be displayed at the Fine Arts Exhibition of the Red River Delta region. With his love for children, especially sympathy for children who are unfortunate in life, artist Dang Son Nam donated the painting “Uncle Ho with Children” to the Center for Relief of Disabled Children in Nam Dinh City.

According to the artists, to create works about President Ho, the artist must always be concerned about how to convey the image of Uncle Ho through the work in the most realistic and intimate way, but still have to be new and attractive to the viewer, because the works about Uncle Ho are often very "choosy" about the viewer and the image of Uncle Ho is too familiar to the people. Therefore, drawing in a way that is both creative and new but still similar to his style is very difficult. The authors draw about Uncle Ho but very few people have met him directly and create mainly through documents and photos, so the artist must have a delicate perspective to create the image, express the right spirit, especially the wise soul, gentle facial features and gestures of the beloved leader.

In Nam Dinh, in addition to the propaganda painting genre, the fine art works about the life and career of Uncle Ho are mainly the creations of the previous generation of artists. To arouse passion and artistic creativity, the young generation of artists in Nam Dinh needs to learn, cultivate knowledge, explore and research documents about Uncle Ho to create works of art about President Ho Chi Minh. In addition, sectors, organizations and localities should promote the organization of many fine art competitions and exhibitions on the theme of Uncle Ho to motivate young artists to create new valuable works about Uncle Ho, introduce them to the public, and contribute to effectively propagating the campaign to continue promoting "Studying and following the ideology, morality and style of Ho Chi Minh"./.

Article and photos: Khanh Dung

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