Lacquer, silk offer new experience of Hang Trong folk paintings

The exhibition, themed ‘Tu truyen thong toi truyen thong’ (From tradition to tradition), displays works by students majoring in lacquer and silk at the painting faculty of the Hanoi-based Vietnam University of Fine Arts. Opened on October 30, the event is organised at Nam Huong Communal House, No 75 Hang Trong street in Hanoi, and will last through December 20. It showcases 25 works, including paintings and installation art objects made from other traditional painting materials such as silk and lacquer by 26 authors. Most of the items on show feature images of the Hang Trong folk painting genre and also embody personal creativity of their authors (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Like other traditional art genres in the country, Hang Trong painting has been facing the risk of falling into oblivion. The items on display are part of a project that aims to uphold and bring into play values of the Hang Trong folk painting genre by recreating the traditional paintings with silk and lacquer, giving them a more modern look. Nguyen The Son, a lecturer at the painting faculty of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts and also one of the authors’ supervisors, said this is also a new learning method when students are required to copy traditional folk paintings as part of their homework (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Some of the art works on show. Hang Trong painting is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut painting that originated from the area of Hang Trong and Hang Non streets in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. The genre dates back to about the 16th century and peaked in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It has been rated by researchers as highly aesthetical and sophisticated thanks to its woodblock printing and colouring techniques. The paintings also feature deep imprints of the culture and era when they came into being. There are two common types of Hang Trong paintings, one for worshipping and the other for Tet (Lunar New Year) decoration (Photo: VietnamPlus)

A close look at ‘Tu phu cong dong’ (The Council of Four Palaces), a Hang Trong painting for worshipping renewed by Nguyen Tran Hoang. To make a traditional Hang Trong painting, the craftsman starts with woodblocks to print black outlines, then draws details and finally colours the picture in by hand. Because the main part of the process is made by hand, Hang Trong pictures are slightly different from one to another, thus they become more valuable for the fastidious customers in Hanoi. The paper used in making Hang Trong paintings is called ‘xuyen chi’, which differs from the natural colour paper of Dong Ho painting, a renowned folk painting genre in nearby Bac Ninh province (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Like other objects on display, this lacquer vase, named ‘Xich ho tuong quan’ (General Red Tiger), by Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh impresses visitors with its sophistication and colours. In the traditional making of Hang Trong paintings, after printing black outlines and drawing details, craftsmen colour their pictures with pigments, and therefore the tone of Hang Trong paintings is usually bright and attractive with principal colours being pink, blue, green, red and yellow. The aesthetic value in pictures of Hang Trong painting is more urban than in the Dong Ho ones, which are made in the countryside and often reflect the perspective of farmers (Photo: VietnamPlus)

An installation artwork created by arranging many layers of silk combined with lighting. Its original painting is used in the worship of Mother Goddesses. One of the most popular folk painting genres in Vietnam, Hang Trong painting is closely associated with the culture of the capital city. In the past, Hang Trong craftsmen often began to make pictures in the eleventh and twelfth months in the lunar calendar so that they could meet the high demand during the Tet holiday, when a Hang Trong painting was indispensable for each Hanoi family. For this reason, Hang Trong painting, besides Dong Ho, was also called ‘tranh Tet’ (Tet painting) (Photo: VietnamPlus)

A lacquer vase featuring the image of a woman playing ‘dan nguyet’ (moon-shaped two string lute). Common characters in Hang Trong paintings include kings, lords, Buddha, saints, children and the three gods symbolising longevity, prosperity and happiness. Some popular pictures of Hang Trong painting are ‘Ngu ho’ (Five tigers), ‘Ly ngu vong nguyet’ (Carp looking at the moon), ‘Tu binh’ (Four female musicians), and ‘To nu’ (Virgin girl). Apart from Hang Trong, other well-known folk painting genres in Vietnam include Dong Ho (Bac Ninh), Kim Hoang (Hanoi), Sinh (central province of Thua Thien-Hue), along with 'kinh' (glass) and 'goi vai' (wrapped in fabric) paintings in the south (Photo: VietnamPlus)

The famous ‘Ngu ho’ (Five tigers) picture of the Hang Trong genre is renewed with a work named ‘Ngu ho – Ngu hanh’ (Five tigers – Five basic elements) by Truong Hoang Hai. Traditional painting genres have been strongly affected by the modern life as people nowadays are no longer in the habit of buying such pictures. Since the late 20th century, more attention has been paid to the study, preservation, and promotion of folk painting genres. Many symposiums have been organised while a number of old paintings and woodcut blocks have been collected and introduced at museums. The preservation of folk paintings has also been part of some traditional cultural heritage protection projects (Photo: VietnamPlus)