Exhibition "Nguyen Do Cung - a legend": "Meeting" a great personality of Vietnamese painting

The exhibition displays nearly 120 works by artist - researcher Nguyen Do Cung (1912 - 1977), painstakingly collected, preserved and selected by collector Le Quang Tuyen.

Although only a small part of the artistic legacy of painter Nguyen Do Cung, the works in the exhibition will help art lovers better understand the talent and creativity of a painting legend - a great personality Nguyen Do Cung.

Painter Nguyen Do Cung is the founder of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and the Vietnam Fine Arts Institute. Moreover, he is also the pioneer of a research concept and an artistic personality, and is one of the most outstanding painters of Vietnamese fine arts in the 20th century.

In addition to his creative career, Nguyen Do Cung is also known as an erudite researcher. He has written many monographs on ancient Vietnamese fine arts. He studies the national cultural heritage through ancient architecture, combined with the search for Western art trends in the early 20th century, experimenting with cubism trends with the desire to create new nuances for Vietnamese painting.

His typical creative and research works include: "Portrait of President Ho" (Oil on canvas - 1946), "La Hai Relic Area" (Powder color - 1947), "Militia practicing shooting" (Powder color - 1948), "Learning from each other" (Oil on canvas - 1960), "Overview of ancient art of the Vietnamese people", "Ancient architectural heritages of Vietnam"... With his contributions to the country's fine arts, painter - researcher Nguyen Do Cung was awarded the First Class Labor Medal (1977), the first Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts (1996).

In fine art creation, he was a talented painter who found a Vietnamese character, a spirit of modern Vietnamese painting when exposed to Western art when he studied at the Indochina Fine Arts School. As the Director of the Fine Arts Institute, he made many continuous field trips to find typical styles in architecture, sculpture, decoration and practical significance through the feudal dynasties of Vietnam. He was the one who contributed to the renovation of an old villa in the French style so that the building had the appearance of a national fine arts museum. Painter Nguyen Do Cung was also the one who built and trained the first team of ancient fine arts research experts in Vietnam. He was a learned talent formed from a great and noble personality.

Nguyen Do Cung's painting style is imbued with realism and nationalism, especially focusing on the working, production and fighting life of the Vietnamese people. He often chooses the image of workers and militiamen as the center of his works, expressing their resilience, strength and fighting spirit. Nguyen Do Cung is one of the pioneering artists in using lacquer and pigment materials, combining Western painting techniques with traditional national aesthetics. His brushwork is bold and sharp, creating paintings with tight compositions. The colors in Nguyen Do Cung's paintings are clear and bright, he skillfully creates depth and liveliness for the characters.

The creative process of painter Nguyen Do Cung is divided into three stages, with distinct differences in style, materials and creative themes due to the fluctuations of the country's history: the period before the August Revolution in 1945, the period of resistance against the French from 1945 to 1954 and the period of economic and social development later.

During the resistance war, Nguyen Do Cung quickly joined the army marching south. 1947 - 1948 were his creative years in the South Central region. With endless passion, he painted guerrillas practicing shooting, the Tam Ky military factory, the An Khe front, Phu Phong, and scenes of daily life in Zone Five... The works and sketches created during the South march period in the collection of collector Le Quang Tuyen are introduced in this exhibition, marking a period of artist Nguyen Do Cung's activities.

In addition to works from the Southern expansion period, this exhibition also includes works he created in later periods, typically: “Uncle Ho’s Stilt House” (watercolor), “Renewed Country” (oil), “Mechanical Workshop” (silk), “Factory Self-Defense Team”, “Painting Workshop”, “Weaving and Spinning Workshop”, “Armored Tank Corps” (color), “Perfume Pagoda Landscape”, “Portrait of a Painter”, “Female Weaver”, “Riverside Village”, “Bicycle Repair Shop”, “Working Competition”, “Portrait of Miss Ket Ha Giang ”, “Japanese Girl” (watercolor)… along with dozens of portraits in color and watercolor. Sketches of characters during labor, combat, production… make up the majority of the exhibition.

At the exhibition, the 140-page book “Painter Nguyen Do Cung” introducing the life and career of painter Nguyen Do Cung, compiled, collected and assembled by art researcher Nguyen Hai Yen, journalist Dao Mai Trang, collector Le Quang Tuyen and a group of authors, has just been published by the Fine Arts Publishing House and was also introduced to art lovers.

The legacy that painter Nguyen Do Cung left behind is not only unique works of art but also an endless source of inspiration for those who pursue their passion for creativity.

The exhibition runs from August 12 to 20, 2025.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/trien-lam-nguyen-do-cung-mot-huyen-thoai-gap-mot-nhan-cach-lon-cua-hoi-hoa-viet-nam-712376.html