More documents about King Ham Nghi as an artist

(CLO) The book “Ham Nghi - Emperor in exile, artist in Algiers” reveals the little-known artistic side of the emperor, one of the artists who left a special mark on modern Vietnamese fine arts.

On November 5, at Duyet Thi Duong Theater, Hue , the Hue Monuments Conservation Center held a discussion to introduce the publication "Ham Nghi - Exiled Emperor, Artist in Alger" which was just published in Vietnamese in October 2024.

The work "Ham Nghi - Emperor in exile, artist in Alger" was researched and compiled by Dr. Amandine Dabat, translated and published by Social Sciences Publishing House from the original French version "Ham Nghi - Empereur en exil, artiste à Alger" published by Sorbonne Publishing House in 2019.

Dr. Amandine Dabat shared at the seminar. Photo: L.Minh

The book is over 500 pages thick, including 71 pages of fine art works, 12 pages of sculptures, 68 pages of documentary photos, letters... This is the dedicated research work of Dr. Amandine Dabat on the life of King Ham Nghi as a patriotic king and a talented painter during his exile in France and Alger.

At the seminar, with the sharing from author Amandine Dabat, the public had the opportunity to gain deeper insight into the ups and downs of the exiled emperor's life, who was always filled with nostalgia for his homeland, people, and artistic talent, and to explore his creative process and the artistic values ​​he left behind.

According to Dr. Amandine Dabat, to conduct the above research, she relied on two important collections. In which, the Ham Nghi collection kept by the king's descendants includes 2,500 documents, mainly letters, including letters received by the king and draft letters written by the king during his exile.

The second collection is the Algerian government documents containing administrative documents and political projects of the French government related to King Ham Nghi.

Dr. Amandine Dabat affirmed that through analyzing the style of King Ham Nghi's artworks, from oil paintings to sculptures, it helped to supplement and clarify King Ham Nghi's views on the French government, politics as well as his social and artistic relationships.

The book “Ham Nghi - Emperor in exile, artist in Algiers” in Vietnamese. Photo: AK

On this occasion, the descendants of King Ham Nghi presented to the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum many valuable relics of King Ham Nghi, including: a wooden tray inlaid with mother-of-pearl, 31.4 cm long; 18.4 cm wide; 10 cm high; a set of Chinese books including 3 volumes: "Royal records of the royal court" (2 volumes); "Dan do huyen chi" (26 volumes); "Tang dinh thi kinh the chi dien nghia" (5 volumes); a pair of royal chopsticks made of walrus ivory, used in King Ham Nghi's meals (Can Vuong period 1885-1889) and a pair of porcelain pots, belongings of King Ham Nghi's family.

Art historian Amandine Dabat is a fifth-generation descendant of King Ham Nghi - great-granddaughter of Princess Nhu Ly (daughter of King Ham Nghi). She holds a PhD in Art History from Sorbonne University and a master's degree in Vietnamese Studies from Paris 7-Diderot University. In 2015, she successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the French National Institute of Art History on the topic of King Ham Nghi.

The Vu

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/them-nhung-tu-lieu-ve-nha-vua-ham-nghi-trong-vai-tro-nguoi-nghe-si-post320121.html