Visitors enjoy Vietnamese lacquer paintings (Photo: VNA) Moscow (VNA) – TheMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism opened an exhibition featuringVietnamese lacquer paintings in Moscow on May 23 as part of activities withinthe “Vietnamese Culture Days in Russia 2019” from May 21-28.
Thirty paintings introducespecial artistic values of Vietnamese lacquer paintings and the development pathof the Vietnamese lacquer art.
Addressing the openingceremony, Ma The Anh, Vice Director of the Fine Arts, Photography and ExhibitionDepartment under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourismsaid that lacquer is the unique fine art material of Vietnam.
Russian Deputy Minister of Culture Pavel Stepanov showed his delight to attendthe cultural event with great significance to people of both countries.
He read Russian Minister ofCulture Vladimir Medinski’s letter welcoming the Vietnamese Culture Days inRussia, which states that the cultural cooperation between the two countries isan important factor of the Russia-Vietnam strategic partnership, bringingpeople of both countries closer together.
Along with the paintings, participants at the event also enjoyed folk music ofVietnam and Russia.
Son mai comprises two words son (lacquer)and mai (grind) which relate to the material and process usedto make a son mai painting (a lacquer painting).
Vietnamese people had been using resin fromthe lacquer tree to make crafts and valuable objects for hundreds ofyears, including objects of religious value.
Vietnamese lacquer paintings are covered and ground many times with lacquer resin beforethe artist inlays crushed egg shells, gold, silver and other materials.
The first Vietnamese lacquer paintings were made by students at ÉcoleSuperieure des Beaux Arts de I’Indochine(Indochina Fine Art Colleges) in the 1930s.
Over the years, Vietnamese lacquer masters reachedmilestones in developing traditional crafts towards artistic creativity.-VNA
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