Lacquer paintings – an original art of Vietnam

Among the common people in Vietnam, there have been many kinds of paintings since a long time ago such as Đông Hồ glazed paper paintings, oil-paintings, silk paintings, and lacquer paintings. Each type has its own special features that make Vietnamese people always feel proud when mentioning them with foreign friends from all over the world.

According to scholars specialising in portraying art, lacquer plays the first role in traditional materials in Vietnam's painting background. Opening to the world, Vietnam's lacquer paintings have got special attention because of its distinct nuance that expresses national characters strongly.

Lacquer is also called "our own paint", which has a long-standing tradition. In previous centuries, wooden statues in village's communal houses, temples, pagodas were red-lacquered and trimmed with gold. Altars, parallel sentences panels, and horizontal lacquered boards were handled by lacquering with sparkling colours which were unfadable by time.

Many centuries going through, lacquer was researched and investigated and then upgraded to a higher position by Vietnamese artists. Lacquer paintings appeared required more abundant stuffs. They needed many kinds of colour powder, sheet gold, sheet silver, oyster shell, egg shell, and so on. But one indispensable traditional material which is imperative to have in creating new works is lacquer - "our own paint". This paint is made from wax-trees planted broadly in Phú Thọ. Resin taken from wax-trees is called "live paint". After storing many days, resin is dehydrated into ferment and then deposited into different layers of paint which have different colours. The highest one has darkest colour and is also the best type called "high quality paint". This quality paint has to go through many stages of storing, stirring and mixing with additives. After that, the outcome has very beautiful colours: red-brown, jet, glittering pink, etc.

Paintings after finishing need lots of time to be touched. It may be months, years, even plenty of years. The painters have to whet again and again their paintings to make them flat. Paints are drawn in many layers then can bring beautiful, occult and splendid colours. The colour board in lacquer has many types. If we take notice, we can realize the capabilities and preeminence of different ones. Black lacquer is shiny, glossy and profoundly mysterious. Cockroach-wing lacquer is lissome and limpid. Covering golden or silver colour, the other colours can change to create derivative colour bringing theatrical timbre. By coordinating ages of different-aged colours, colour powders also become vaporous and radiant. They make up sunk and floated parts of the paintings.

The 1930s was the time when lacquer paintings and other works of fine arts confronted a great renaissance. It confirmed that the ability to express ideas and feelings of lacquer paintings is unlimited.

Many lacquer paintings and art objects of Vietnam have been brought overseas in mass. Painters, much or little, often draw lacquer paintings by sudden inspiration and following their flow of emotions. Vibration in their heart is reflected through the work, without any rules or formulas. Because of those factors, the spirit in Vietnam's paintings turns to be profound. Painters who have strong attachment with lacquer and have published resounding paintings are: Nguyen Sang with his work "Afternoon rest"; Tran Van Can with "Miss Thuy"; Phan Ke An with the painting "Missing one evening in North west"; To Ngoc Van and "Spending the night on roadside"; Mai Van Nam with "Going to Bac Ha market"; Nguyen Van Ty with "Thatched cottage and foot of jackfruit"; Tran Đinh Tho and "Bamboo"; and Nguyen Gia Tri with "Spring Garden", "Bailing water to prevent blood", and "The girl at hibiscus mutabilis L flower".

Besides, not less young painters have created their style by breaking the old rules: On the ancient foundation, they bring in a great deal of new materials that they call "synthetic materials" with the ambition to create unprecedented aesthetic effects. Of course the experiments not always succeed. Sometimes they take part in making a slanting path and destroy the elegant, noble and traditional beauty of lacquer. Anyway, Vietnamese lacquer paintings have contributed into the whole garden of arts one unique and fragrant flower.

Source: Simple Vietnam