Funeral service held for painter Le Ba Dang

A funeral service for renowned French-Vietnamese painter Le Ba Dang was held in Paris, France on March 12.
A funeral service for renowned French-Vietnamese painter Le Ba Dang was held in Paris, France on March 12.

Envoy Dang Giang at the Vietnamese Embassy passed on messages of condolences of Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Hong Nam, who is Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, and Nguyen Van Cao, Chairman of the Thua Thien-Hue People’s Committee, to the family of the deceased.

He read a letter of condolence from Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ngoc Son, which praised the painter’s contributions to the country, especially in campaigns to gather the international community’s support for Vietnam’s struggle against the US imperialists.

Born in 1921 in Bich La Dong village, Trieu Phong district in the central province of Quang Tri, Dang immigrated to France in 1939 and joined its anti-fascism movement. After being released from Nazi Germany prison, he pursued his studies at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse.

He had his first one-man show in Paris in 1950 and gained prominence throughout Europe over the next thirty years with several international prestigious awards and medals, such as “Artist with great talent and humanity” award by the US’s International Institute of Saint Louis in 1989, “Arts and Cultural Medal” in 1994 by the French State, and “Honouring the Vietnam Nation” title in 2005.

In 1992, he was ranked as one of the most famous painters in the world by Cambridge University.

In 1968, Le Ba Dang and many other renowned painters like Picasso, Matta and Pigion signed the petition for “A day of intellectuals for Vietnam” in Paris calling for the end of the Vietnam War.-VNA

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