Painting exhibition to feature Vietnam’s fondness for learning

The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum is staging an exhibition of paintings on the Vietnamese tradition of fondness for learning, from August 31 to September 11, with many works being introduced to the public for the first time.
“A class under the ground” is a pencil painting by Ngo Ton De from 1967. (Photo: Vietnam Fine Arts Museum)
“A class under the ground” is a pencil painting by Ngo Ton De from 1967. (Photo: Vietnam Fine Arts Museum)

The exhibition will showcase 50 works by 44 painters, with famous names such as Tran Van Can, Diep Minh Chau and To Ngoc Van, produced after 1945 on various materials such as oil, lacquer, silk, watercolour, wood, gypsum and cast iron.

After Vietnam gained independence in 1945, President Ho Chi Minh launched a campaign known as “Binh Dan Hoc Vu” to eradicate illiteracy, which was a significant step for the government to continue the nation’s learning tradition.

War in the subsequent years did not prevent the development of education and although schools had to be evacuated, learning was always given a high priority and implemented on a large scale.

When the country was reunified, education was not only confined to schools but expanded to include sharing experiences between colleagues and passing down knowledge and skills to later generations, all depicted in the talent of the painters.

“The first secondary school class” by Diep Minh Chau in 1948. (Photo: Vietnam Fine Arts Museum)

“The first secondary school class” by Diep Minh Chau in 1948 . (Photo: Vietnam Fine Arts Museum)

“The first secondary school class” by Diep Minh Chau in 1948 . (Photo: Vietnam Fine Arts Museum)

NDO