The fighting atmosphere of the Dien Bien Phu battle through paintings

HANOI - Scenes of troops pulling artillery and soldiers marching to Dien Bien are depicted in paintings by many artists such as Tran Khanh Chuong and Tran Dinh Tho.

Mai Van Hien recreates the daily life of soldiers in the oil painting Songs of the Campaign Season .

The painting was created by the author in 1994, and is part of the exhibition Road to Dien Bien, which took place from April 26 to May 15 at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory. The event displayed 70 works of painting, graphics, sculpture, sketches, and posters, created in the period 1949-2009 by 34 authors.

Mai Van Hien (1923-2006) spent many years working in the army and the Vietnam Fine Arts Association. He mainly painted images of President Ho Chi Minh , soldiers, and the relationship between the army and the people with a simple, optimistic realistic style. The artist was one of the founders of revolutionary realist art.

The work "Pulling the Dien Bien Phu Cannon" was painted by Tran Dinh Tho in 1994. The painting evokes many emotions in viewers because of the image of a soldier pulling a cannon at night, serving the Dien Bien Phu campaign in 1954.

Tran Dinh Tho (1919-2011) graduated from the last class of the Indochina College of Fine Arts (1939-1944). He held many important positions such as principal of the Vietnam College of Fine Arts, deputy director of the Institute of Art Research, acting director of the Institute of Fine Arts, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum (1969-1972)... In 2001, Tran Dinh Tho received the State Prize for Literature and Arts.

Cao Trong Thiem depicts a time of fire and smoke in the Dien Bien Phu paintings of that year. Through the artist's strokes - who directly participated in the Dien Bien Phu campaign - the terrain of the Muong Thanh basin, surrounded by mountains and hills, is recreated. In it, soldiers aim their cannons at the enemy base, next to them are female workers carrying ammunition to increase the firepower.

Cao Trong Thiem was born in 1942, former director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum. Thanks to his time working as a journalist at the Vietnam News Agency, he had many experiences and emotions to create paintings.

Painter Tran Khanh Chuong completed the painting Road to Dien Bien in 2005.

Tran Khanh Chuong was born in 1943, in Thien Loc commune, Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province. He graduated from the Ceramics Department of Hanoi Industrial Fine Arts School, 1959-1963 school year, and was considered to have extensive knowledge of visual arts, creating in many forms: painting, graphics, ceramics. He held the position of President of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association from 1999 to 2019, Vice President of the National Committee of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations from 2000 to 2010... In 2020, the artist passed away from colon cancer.

Painting of Party Admission Ceremony in Dien Bien Phu by artist Nguyen Sang.

The Vietnamese art world honors Nguyen Sang (1923-1988) as a master of painting, one of the "four" with Lien, Nghiem, and Phai (Duong Bich Lien, Nguyen Tu Nghiem, and Bui Xuan Phai). He created on many materials and was a giant in the Vietnamese lacquer industry, successfully exploiting a modern painting style without straying from traditional national art.

The work Marching by Nguyen Sy Ngoc.

At the opening ceremony of the exhibition Road to Dien Bien , Director of the Department of Cinema Vi Kien Thanh said that the 70 paintings were all related to issues and events of the Dien Bien Phu campaign that were recorded by many generations of artists, affirming that this was an elaborate collection of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

The painting Attacking the center of Dien Bien Phu was painted by Nguyen The Vi in 1966.

According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Minh - Director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, the exhibition is an opportunity to educate today's and future generations about patriotism, the strength of national unity, and at the same time to remember previous generations.

A series of sketches of the Dien Bien Phu battlefield by artist To Ngoc Van before his death was one of the highlights of the event. Pictured is the oil painting Preparing to Go to Market, which he painted in 1954.

To Ngoc Van (1906-1954) was a famous painter in the "quartet" of first Tri, second Van, third Lan, fourth Can (Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van, Nguyen Tuong Lan, Tran Van Can). He is considered the first person to use oil paint in Vietnam.

Oil painting of President Ho Chi Minh wading across a stream on a business trip by Bui Van Hoan.

In addition to the live exhibition, 70 paintings are applied cinemagraph technology. In the digital projection area, the museum has arranged some models of carts, costumes and items of soldiers and civilians participating in the Dien Bien Phu battle, bringing a new experience.

Phuong Linh Photo: Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts

Vnexpress.net

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