[2] Trần Văn Cẩn, Huu Ngoc and Vu Huyen co-wrote of one of the first books in English language on Vietnamese contemporary painters,[3] (published in Hanoi in 1987), in which it states that Can was known for the fact he excelled in all the artistic media he took his hand to – lacquer, oil, wood block printing engraving, and was considered a pioneer in transforming lacquer from an artisan’s craft to an expressive medium for painting.
[4] As with biographies for all the painters included in the book, there is an emphasis on Nationalist affiliation and support, such as participating in the two wars for National Independence, rather than their influences and inspirations as artists.
[4][6] When he was a student at L’ecole des Beaux Arts de Indochine “ he was heavily influenced by Joseph Inguimberty (1896-1971) one of the founders of the school.”[6] And according to Taylor the last French colonial governor in Vietnam organized an exhibition, which has been largely overlooked in Vietnamese records of the colonial period art, despite the fact that works by Tran Can Van, Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van, Bui Xuan Phai displayed alongside well-known European artists, such as Jean-Antoine Watteau, Eugene Delacrois, Edgar Degas and Paul Cézanne.
She goes on to suggest that had it not been for the politically-driven effort to establish an Independent state, the foreign artistic influences on the art practices and communities in Vietnam may have been more readily admitted to.
[9] Tran Van Can designed one of the first political posters, entitled “Vietnam for the Vietnamese” and the majority of his drawings and sketches from that time are of rural village life or on the battlefield.