In the art of Tuong, masks are a unique highlight that creates the soul of the play.

Painting

Coming from a family with an artistic tradition, Meritorious Artist La Thanh Hung has not only succeeded in many plays, but is also known as one of the few artists who master the technique of masking characters in plays. As the son of the late artist La Chau, the last royal artist of the Nguyen Dynasty, Meritorious Artist La Thanh Hung entered the profession and became an actor when he was only 8-9 years old.

He is very passionate about makeup and can do it himself. Watching the old makeup artists, he remembers, understands the principles and knows how to make up most of the masks of each character in the plays. Currently, he is considered the only person who can remember and draw in detail every stroke on each mask of hundreds of characters in dozens of plays of Hue Tuong .

According to Meritorious Artist La Thanh Hung, in Tuong, each character has a different mask. With three main colors: black, red, white, each mask symbolizes the character's personality. The white face symbolizes the villain; the red face symbolizes heroic spirit, integrity; the black face symbolizes toughness...

Meritorious Artist La Thanh Hung shared: “When making masks for the characters of the Tuong stage, I always keep in mind that no matter how successful the artist is in performing, if the Tuong mask is not beautiful or does not match the character, the play is not successful. Each mask is a work of art associated with the Tuong stage character, whether the actor can radiate the spirit of the character or not is partly due to the makeup artist. One must grasp the principles of the mold of each mask for each character model in order to be able to do a lot of makeup.”

The uniqueness of the mask language is also one of the core elements that make up the value of Hue Tuong art. When looking at a Tuong mask, the audience can see the spirit of the character, whether he is upright or sycophantic, representing good or evil. Therefore, the Tuong mask painter must have skills, experience, and understanding of the specific meaning of the patterns of each mask to express the spirit and meticulousness through each stroke.

Conveying the unique beauty of Tuong art

Tuong is a unique traditional art form of the Vietnamese people. This art form appeared quite early, during the reign of the Nguyen kings, Tuong was given more attention and reached the peak of stage art. Developing in a special historical and political condition, Tuong art in Hue has its own identity compared to other places. Hue Tuong artists have secrets to create their own unique features that only those who are very knowledgeable can recognize.

In the art of Tuong, the art of mask painting is one of the unique and typical elements. Up to now, mask painting in Tuong art has been oral and imitative. Over time, because most of them do not understand the unique meaning in each detail of the pattern and drawing, Tuong mask artists have gradually lost their traditional character and unique identity. Currently, very few young artists understand the technique of painting Tuong masks.

According to Ms. Le Mai Phuong, Head of Applied Research Department, Hue Royal Traditional Arts Theater, in the art of Tuong singing, the mask is the most important stage prop, the highlight that creates the soul and substance, conveying the unique beauty of this traditional theatrical art. The face in Tuong is also based on real life to create many mask models of each character.

Tuong has stylized real-life skin colors to incorporate into the face painting of its characters: white skin, black skin, red skin, yellow skin... with specific meanings. The white patches on the character's face represent the facial muscles on that face. The drawings in Tuong masks are often taken from folk images such as dragons, unicorns, turtles, and phoenixes, symbolizing royalty, nobility, or strength and power. Tuong masks focus on the eyes to express the character's spirit.

To introduce and honor the art of Hue Tuong, the Hue Royal Traditional Arts Theater has created Tuong masks to promote and introduce to the public. In the program "Thousand-year echo" at Hue Festival 2022, for the first time on the street, a program promoting ancient theater art appeared, showing off the beauty of Tuong costumes and masks with brilliant, vivid colors.

The highlight of the program is the artists and actors playing 100 Tuong characters with different types of costumes and masks to show off, creating a colorful and evocative liveliness, describing a popular art form in the past. The masks show the diversity of character genres, personality characteristics, rich colors and balance in both gender and age, fully portraying the portraits of characters in ancient Tuong art, from the role of a female lead, a male lead, a flatterer, a general... in traditional Tuong plays. Most of these masks are performed by Meritorious Artist La Thanh Hung.

This year, the Hue Tuong art program “Thousands of Years of Echoes” will continue to be held within the framework of Hue Festival 2023. With these activities, the program organizers hope to have a vivid visual product that is easy to remember by the audience, contributing to honoring the country's art and being the most practical way to preserve, maintain and promote the nation's cultural assets.

Article and photos: Minh Hien