Vietnamese art
They were elaborately decorated with geometric patterns, and most importantly, depicted scenes of everyday life such as farming, warriors donning feather headdresses, construction of ships, musicians, etc.
The Lý dynasty, beginning in the 11th century is viewed specifically as the golden age of Vietnamese art, and its ceramics became famous across East and Southeast Asia.
Vietnamese modern art includes artistic work materialized during colonial period between the 1860s and 1970s, and significantly ascribed to the founding of "Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine" in October 1925.
[5] Before 1925, paintings and carvings were mainly created for religious purpose, in a decorative manner for example lacquered furniture and utilitarian ceramic and porcelains, subordinated to demands by the local temples and pagodas use.
[8] Tardieu's idea was to adapt existing curriculum used in "Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris" by including art history; technical course like oil painting and perspective, to train student into real artist.
[9] Artist like Tô Ngọc Vân was able to combine western aesthetic techniques like linear perspective, imitation of nature and modelling in the round into his own oriental traditions with oil medium.
"[15] This example quoted by Taylor, argues that the tendency of idealization, we see in Tô Ngọc Vân's painting reflects a distancing and detachment with the subject matter, a result of artist's attempt to emulate their French teachers inclusive of whatever they do.
[14] Other than oil medium and en plein air painting method, significant assimilation and adaption of local culture were encouraged by Victor Tardieu and his successor Joseph Imguimberty.
"[17] Victor TardieuMaking lacquer painting takes several months, using resin from Son tree taken from the plantation from Sơn Mài region, numerous layers of application are applied to acquire the desired colour and effects.
[18] Nguyễn Gia Trí's aim " was to obtain the same level of painting as with the oil medium regarding perspective, modelling in the round, and infinite variation of colours".
[20] In 1931, Paris International Colonial Exhibition, Nguyễn Phan Chánh's work titled Children Playing a Game of Squares was well-received and this recognition firmly established the medium as a modern Vietnamese expression.
Artists like Bùi Xuân Phái and Nguyễn Tư Nghiêm who entered EBAI in 1941 was unable to complete the full five-year programme due to the 1945 revolution.
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam reopened a fine arts school in Hanoi for a short period of time in September 1945 ruled by To Ngoc Van.
However, artists were sympathetic of the Viet Minh and decided to leave Hanoi to join the resistance movement against French in the Hills of Tay Bac.
[6] Notable group of artists in the North during the Cold War were Tô Ngọc Vân, Trần Văn Cẩn, Huỳnh Phương Đông, Phạm Thanh Tâm, Diệp Minh Tuyền, Hòang Trung.
When Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam's independence on 2 September 1945, Vietnamese artist begin to resist the influence of romantic realism, tendency for nostalgia past and melancholic dreams.
[24] Artist like Tô Ngọc Vân shook off his romantic style and turned towards modern realism, he moved the closed EBAI (after the Japanese coup de force in March 1945) to Việt Bắc in 1950, the military base of the Revolutionary Army under Hồ Chí Minh.
[21] First National Art Exhibition in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1955, after the victory at Điện Biên Phủ where Meeting (Gặp Nhau) by Mai Văn Hiến was praised as the ideal painting that illustrates the idea of community and solidarity between the soldiers and the common people.
[30] Strict guidelines were attempted to established in 1962, on the productions of artists artworks, they need to portray a "National Character", subject matters were usually the countryside, battle scene, portrait of Uncle Ho.
[25] In Trần Văn Cẩn's Portrait painting "Militia women of a coastal region", the artist depicted a robust figure and confronting gaze, she is a comrade ready to face the enemy.
In the Diệp Minh Châu's "Uncle Ho's House in Việt Bắc" show clear proficiency with the medium oil painting, the impressionist strokes of capturing the light through filtering leaves.
His professors in the resistance zone were trained from the EBAI" the drawings and diary clearly contents "lyrical and poetic quality" it was regarded as ideal paintings.
Likewise, the undeniable fact that, the intense cultural transfer during colonial period continues to influence local artist after the exit of the French.
Vietnam was divided at the 17 parallel after the Geneva Conference in 1954, separating themselves into the Soviet and Chinese supported North against the Southern Republic reinforced by the United States of America.
In 1966, Saigon Society of Young Artist (Hội Họa sĩ trẻ Sài Gòn) was founded campaigning to develop modern art, members include Nguyễn Trung and Trịnh Cung.
As noted by Vietnamese art historian Huỳnh-Beattie, Southern artists did not readily accepted and took in American culture, which they deem as inferior to the French.
In the past, with literacy in the old character-based writing systems of Vietnam being restricted to scholars and elites, calligraphy nevertheless still played an important part in Vietnamese life.
On special occasions such as the Tết Nguyên Đán, people would go to the village teacher or scholar to make them a calligraphy hanging (often poetry, folk sayings or even single words).
It flourished in the 18th century when many notable Vietnamese writers and poets composed their works in chữ nôm and it briefly became the official written script.
Many Vietnamese poems, along with folk "literature" in general, tends to be much more of an oral tradition – as literacy (as it is defined today) in the past was restricted mostly to scholars and the elite.
