Sketch of a precious painting by famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri

Associated with lacquer works

Mr. Nguyen Gia Tue, son of painter Nguyen Gia Tri, cannot forget the days when his father was alive. In his memory, his father did nothing but paint. Before liberation, the famous painter's customers were mainly foreign billionaires, officials, generals in the presidential palace, rich people... They often had to pay in advance and had to wait in line to receive their works. "I saw him draw a lot of sketches on lacquer paper", Mr. Tue recalled. He also clearly remembered that his father was always searching for new perspectives, new lines, new ways of doing things. Nguyen Gia Tri also had a clear and unchanging view that fine arts must be closely linked to the cultural soul of the nation. He was also loyal all his life to the lacquer material - a characteristic of Vietnamese folk fine arts.

Now, sketches by famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri are on display at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum ( Hanoi ) to celebrate the 110th anniversary of his birth (1908 - 2018). The exhibition, which takes place from June 26 to July 10, introduces 40 sketches of the famous painter, from the collection of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum. The sketches are of different sizes, the smallest is 15 x 11 cm, the largest is 67 x 106 cm.

These sketches are associated with the lacquer works of the famous painter - who critic Thai Ba Van assessed as "one of the few brightest stars of modern lacquer art in Vietnam".

Sketch of a precious painting by famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri1

Sketch of a girl with loose hair

Opportunity to enjoy beautiful sketches

Ms. Ma Thanh Cao said it took her 20 years to bring the collection of Nguyen Gia Tri sketches to her museum. “The first batch of paintings purchased in 1990 included 61 sketches. It was not until 2010, that is, 20 years later, that I was able to buy more, and bought 72 paintings. During that period, I occasionally visited the family and told them that if they needed money and did not want to keep them anymore, they should remember the museum. Therefore, when someone was seriously ill, the family called me. In that collection, there were many beautiful sketches, and they were related to the paintings in the museum,” Ms. Cao recalled.

Ms. Cao said that when she heard her family call, she was extremely happy. “If we sell to the museum, it will be cheaper than selling to someone else, and the money will be slower. But I convinced my family that if we think of it as a gift he left, we should use it meaningfully. A hundred thousand dollars is not a small asset. It can be sold for a hundred or two, but after it is sold, it will quietly slip away somewhere. But if we sell it to the museum, we can keep the entire collection. That is something the family can do for him, so that more people know about the collection,” Ms. Cao said.

According to Ms. Cao, the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum also intended to borrow this collection for display 10 years ago. Ho Chi Minh City also agreed. However, due to many procedures from Hanoi, this was not successful. Now, when the collection is launched in Hanoi, the capital's public has the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful sketches of the famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phac-thao-tranh-quy-cua-danh-hoa-nguyen-gia-tri-185768259.htm