Dong Ho Village (Thuan Thanh Ward, Bac Ninh Province) is home to a 500-year-old traditional painting craft. It's also a place where visitors can directly admire and fully appreciate the beauty of this traditional art form.
In that space steeped in the atmosphere of a traditional craft village, Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Huu Qua quietly sits at his printing table, meticulously layering natural colors onto sheets of gilded paper stained with the marks of time.
Each layer of paint is printed by hand, creating the distinctive effect of Dong Ho folk painting.
"The Mouse Wedding" is one of the most famous works of the Dong Ho folk painting style. The painting depicts a wedding of mice offering gifts (birds, fish) to a cat in order to be allowed to proceed peacefully. The painting is a profound satire on class relations in the old society.
The painting "Yin-Yang Pigs" depicts a mother pig gathered around five piglets eating taro leaves. The pigs are adorned with yin-yang swirls – symbols of fertility, growth, and the aspiration for a prosperous life. From this traditional imagery, artisans have developed a variety of products to meet the diverse needs of locals and tourists.
The painting "Returning Home in Glory to Pay Respect to Ancestors" depicts a scene where a highly accomplished scholar is granted horses, carriages, and palanquins by the king to return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors and village. This symbolizes the tradition of valuing education and the moral principle of "drinking water and remembering the source."
The "Beautiful Women" series is a set of four paintings depicting Vietnamese women of the past in elegant poses, performing various traditional musical instruments.
To complete a piece of artwork, an artist typically needs to spend between one and four days, depending on the complexity and detail of each painting.
The painting "Great Fortune" depicts a rooster standing beside a rose bush, symbolizing majesty and representing the five virtues (literature, martial arts, courage, benevolence, and trustworthiness), as well as a wish for good fortune for the homeowner.
The painting "Baby Hugging a Rooster" depicts a chubby boy embracing a rooster, symbolizing good luck, prosperity, and the wish for healthy and thriving children. This image is presented by artists in the form of greeting cards, becoming a refined gift rich in cultural value.
According to the esteemed artisan Nguyen Huu Qua, the technique of printing Dong Ho paintings on the market is not difficult, but understanding and correctly capturing the soul of each stroke is something not everyone can do. The paintings of artisans belonging to the 10th generation of the Nguyen Huu family - a family with a long tradition of keeping the Dong Ho painting craft alive - always maintain the handcrafted methods passed down from their ancestors.
Source: https://laodong.vn/du-lich/kham-pha/mau-thoi-gian-tren-tranh-dong-ho-1679390.html
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