Tranh son dau Viet Nam

Hoa si To Ngoc Van trong khang chien chong Phap.

HUU NGOC va HAM CHAU

Tuy day hoc tro ky thuat ve tranh son dau, nhung Victor Tardieu va Joseph Inguimberty, hai vi giao su nguoi Phap o Truong cao dang My thuat Dong Duong truoc Cach mang Thang Tam, khong bao gio tin la nguoi Viet Nam co the thanh cong voi thu chat lieu rat kho nay.

The ma hoa si To Ngoc Van khong he do du mao hiem lao vao cuoc. Son dau giup ong chop duoc nhung khoanh khac cua thien nhien. Ong su dung cap do mau sac cao nhat de tao ra ve dep bi an cua nui Ba Vi va song Da. Trong mot khoang thoi gian ngan, ong ve rat nhieu tranh son dau ve Vinh Ha Long, Chua Huong, cac su sai o Phnom Penh, va canh nong dan cay cay tren dong ruong. Mot so tranh kinh dien cua ong la Thieu nu voi hoa hue, Thieu nu voi hoa sen, Buoi trua, Thieu nu tua cot, Duoi bong nang. To Ngoc Van su dung ket hop mau nau va mau cham de nhan manh duong net co the thieu nu va phoi hop giua nhip dieu, anh sang, mau sac de the hien sinh khi cuoc song. 

Tranh Hai thieu nu va em be cua To Ngoc Van.

Nam 1939, ong tro thanh giang vien cua Truong Cao dang My thuat Dong Duong va gop phan dao tao mot the he cac hoa si tai nang nhu Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Nguyen Sang, Bui Xuan Phai, Duong Bich Lien, Huynh Van Gam, Mai Van Hien va Phan Ke An.

Nhung hoa si son dau khac nhu Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Vu Cao Dam, Le Thi Luu, Tran Van Can, Luu Van Sin, Nguyen Do Cung va Luong Xuan Nhi cung tao ra nhieu tac pham co gia tri nghe thuat lon. 

Tran Van Can ve buc Em Thuy dua theo phong cach cua hoa si Ha Lan Vermeer de Delft. Luu Van Sin ve buc Anh thanh nien Tho va con ngua hong trong anh sang va mau sac tu nhien. 

        Tranh Em Thuy cua Tran Van Can.

Nguyen Tu Nghiem su dung su tuong phan giua mau trang va mau xanh luc trong buc Nguoi gac Van Mieu. Nguyen Sang chu yeu khai thac de tai dau tranh gianh doc lap dan toc. Bui Xuan Phai lam me hoac gioi sanh my thuat voi nhung canh quan pho co Ha Noi.

Vi sao To Ngoc Van duoc coi la bac thay cua tranh son dau Viet Nam?

To Ngoc Van (1906-1954) la bac thay trong tranh son dau Viet Nam. Ong tin tuong chat lieu moi nay co the bieu dat duoc tam hon nguoi Viet Nam va co the dinh hinh duoc tuong lai hoi hoa Viet Nam. Ong bat dau khai thac cac de tai ve phu nu, cuoc song hang ngay, va phong canh trong cac buc tranh cua minh. Hien  thuc luon la nguon cam hung chu dao cua ong. To Ngoc Van chu trong den hinh khoi, nhung hon the ong con chu y toi mau sac.

 

Ong mang vao hoi hoa Viet Nam nhung hoa sac tao bao, manh me khac han hoa sac diu dang ma phan lon cac hoa si duong thoi ua dung. Nhung gam cham cua ong day an tuong; nhung gam do, vang, cam long lanh; con nhung gam tim va hong thi ruc ro. Cac lop son quen lay nhau, ket hop tao thanh mot an tuong hoa tron giua ran chac va mem mai. Voi To Ngoc Van, co the noi tranh son dau Viet Nam da hoa vao dong tranh chinh thong cua nen my thuat the gioi hien dai.

English translation

Vietnamese Oil Painting

Both Victor Tardieu and Joseph Inguimberty, two French professors in l’Ecole  Superieure des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine before the August Revolution, trained students in oil painting techniques but never believed the Vietnamese could secceed in this difficult medium.

The adventurous To Ngoc Van, however, did not hesitate to take the plunge. Oil paints helped him capture moments of nature. He used the highest degree of tint to create the mystic beauty of Ba Vi Mountain and the Da River. In a short period, he painted many oils of Ha Long Bay, the Perfume Pagoda, Buddhist monks in Phnom Penh, and peasants in the fields. Some of his classics are A Girl by Lilies, A Girl by Lotus Blossoms, At Noon, A Girl Learning against the Gate, and In the Shadows. To Ngoc Van used a combination of indigo and brown to emphasise the body lines of young women, and a mixture of rhythm, light, and colour to suggest vitality. In 1939, To Ngoc Van became a lecturer at the school and helped train a generation of talented artists that included Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Nguyen Sang, Bui Xuan Phai, Duong Bich Lien, Huynh Van Gam, Mai Van Hien, and Phan Ke An.

Other oil painters – including Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Vu Cao Dam, Le Thi Luu, Tran Van Can, Luu Van Sin, Nguyen Do Cung, and Luong Xuan Nhi - also created works of great artistic value. Tran Van Can painted the Portrait of Little Thuy after the style of Dutch painted Vermeer de Deft. Luu Van Sin created Tho Young Man and the Rose Horse in natural light and colour. Nguyen Tu Nghiem used the contrast of white and green in The Guardian of the Temple of Literature. Nguyen Sang mostly dealt with the struggle for national independence. Bui Xuan Phai charmed connoisseurs with scenes of ancient Ha Noi streets.

Why is To Ngoc Van considered the master of Vietnamese oil painting?

To Ngoc Van (1906-1954) became the master of Vietnamese oil painting. He believed this new medium could express the Vietnamese soul and would define the future of Vietnamese painting. He started to employ the themes of women, daily life, and landcape in his paintings. Reality was his primary source of inspiration. To Ngoc Van paid attention to shapes, but he was even more concerned with colours. He introduced to Vietnamese painting powerful, bold combinations of colours that differed from the soft blends his contemporaries favoured. His indigos are impressive; his reds, yellows, and oranges glitter; and his purples and pinks glisten. Layers of oil paint intertwine and merge to create the mixed impression of ambiguity and concreteness, softness and hardness. With To Ngoc Van, Vietnamese oil painting could be said to have joined the mainstream of the world’s morden art.

Translated by The Gioi Publishers