The first artists of Vietnam's modern art, each in his own way, greatly contribute to the development of art in Vietnam.
Vietnam's modern art was formed in the period between 1925 and 1945 with the establishment of Indochina Fine Arts College (Original French name: l'École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochina). This college, founded by the artists Victor Tadieu and Nam Son, provided an ideal environment for aspiring young artists. There world's schools of art and prominent artists were studied side by side with Vietnamese traditional art. The French as well as Vietnamese teachers helped the students catch up with the new art techniques. Many successful artists of Vietnam's early modern art were educated at Indochina Fine Arts College. Before the foundation of the college, there were some Vietnamese artists studying art in France but they are rather obscure and their influence limited.
The artists of the formative years of Vietnam's modern art were characterized by their enthusiasm for art and eagerness to experiment. They explored the Western as well as traditional Vietnamese art techniques, tried their hands at different materials and gradually established their styles. The number, quality and diversity of their works are impressive considering the newness of Vietnam's modern art and the youth of the artists at that time. Some of the paintings of those young artists were exhibited in international fairs and exhibitions such as Rome (1932), Milan (1934), Bruxelles (1935) and San Francisco (1937). They attracted attention and praise from the critics who called them “The Paris School of Vietnam”. Their paintings bear influences of European, especially French art but still have a distinct Vietnamese feel. One of the remarkable achievements of the first artists is the formation of lacquer painting, a genre uniquely Vietnamese.
Among the first artists of Vietnam's modern art, the connoisseurs in Vietnam often mention two “four masters” groups representative of two generations of artists: “Van (To Ngoc Van), Can (Tran Van Can), Tri (Nguyen Gia Tri), Cung (Nguyen Do Cung)” and “Nghiem (Nguyen Tu Nghiem), Lien (Duong Bich Lien), Sang (Nguyen Sang), Phai (Bui Xuan Phai)”. Besides them, there are prominent names like Nguyen Phan Chanh, Luong Xuan Nhi and Mai Trung Thu. Remarkably, there is a female artist in the very beginning of Vietnam's modern art when most women were still bound withing their families and “Western art” was considered somewhat immoral. That brave lady is Le Thi Luu who was among the first and the best of Indochina Fine Art College's graduates.
The masters are often remembered together with the materials and the topics they specialized in. Nguyen Phan Chanh, who took his inspiration from life in the countryside, is the pioneer of the Vietnamese style of silk painting which takes the inspiration from and yet differs from Chinese silk painting. His paintings are soft and dreamy like the silk they are painted on. Nguyen Gia Tri is the master of lacquer painting. His combination of modern style and traditional lacquer techniques became the model for this genre. To Ngoc Van is one of the best users of oil painting techniques. His works, which are usually about women and everyday life, stand out for their gracefulness and beautiful colours. Bui Xuan Phai, who is nicknamed “Pho Phai” (Phai who paints the streets), is renowned for his unique paintings about the streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter. Nguyen Tu Nghiem specializes in using traditional elements and themes for his works. Nguyen Sang painted primarily about life in the resistance against the French colonists.
Reference:
Huu Ngoc and Lady Borton, “Early Vietnamese Paintings”, The Gioi Publisher
"Painters of Indochina College of Fine Arts", My Thuat Publisher
