Last descendant making Hang Trong folk paintings

Artisan Le Dinh Nghien is recognised as the last artist to paint by woodblocks in Hang Trong, an ancient street by Sword Lake in downtown Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

According to Nghien, Hang Trong paintings are made differently with a more sophisticated method than other genres of traditional paintings (Photo: VNA)

Artisan Nghien starts with woodblocks to print black basic shapes of the paintings and then draws the details (Photo: VNA)

He has been working to preserve and restore Hang Trong paintings at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum since 1972 (Photo: VNA)

Nghien still keeps nearly 50 woodblocks of Hang Trong paintings which he considers a valuable inheritance from his ancestors (Photo: VNA)

Hang Trong paintings first appeared in the 16th-17th century, and became popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Photo: VNA)

Many researchers affirm that Hang Trong paintings are strongly influenced by the regional thoughts, culture and religions of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism (Photo: VNA)

The paintings also combine the art of statues and sculptures in temples and pagodas and normal beauty in people’s daily lives (Photo: VNA)

Painting ‘Ly ngu vong nguyet’ (Carp watching the Moon) (Photo: VNA)

Painting ‘Tu binh’ (Four female musicians) (Photo: VNA)