Samuel Delamaziere, Acting Director of French Institute of Vietnam in Da Nang, speaks at the launch of the exhibition“Hawkers and the Shouting on the Streets of Hanoi” in Da Nang on August 19. (Photo: VNA)Launched on August 19, the exhibition is co-held by theFrench Institute of Vietnam in Da Nang, the French Institute for OrientalStudies (EFEO), and the Da Nang Museum of Fine Arts.
It introduces a collection of sketches, paintings, andwatercolors between 1925 and 1929 made by fifteen students of the IndochinaFine Arts School and their teacher, Ferdinand de Fénis, according to SamuelDelamaziere, Acting Director of French Institute of Vietnam in Da Nang.
The artists skillfully depict the small world of hawkerswalking through the streets of the capital under the first rays of sunlight ofthe day with a variety of fruit and vegetable stalls, confectionery, andsnacks.
Delamaziere said the uniqueness of the drawings is in theattractive depiction of the dishes sold on street corners and the capture ofthe musicality in the sales barks used to invite customers.
Sometimes, with only a few outlines, the deep humanity ofthe paintings is also exuded through the vibrancy of the street scenes, theelegant swaying motion to keep the good, or the inclined posture of the hawkertaking ice cream for two impatiently waiting children.
These hawkers mainly came from the villages surroundingHanoi, which have now merged into the capital. Besides street vendors, therewere also people who specialised in buying and exchanging all kinds of used orwaste items.
Scenes of the daily life of Hanoians emerge throughinstallations, light boxes, or displayed paintings. A delicate combination ofphotographs, sound effects, and graceful sketches brings the scent ofnostalgia./.
VNA
