Art collector Truong Van Thuan is hosting the exhibition in HCMC in remembrance of the 30th death anniversary of the painter.
According to Thuan, before applying lacquer finishes to his paintings, Tri had to make many sketches in order to calculate the details, including ideas, graphics, colors, and compositions.
“I want to show viewers how detailed and careful the painter [Nguyen Gia Tri] was with these sketches,” Thuan said.
The most outstanding work, which is also the largest in size, is a sketch of part of one of Tri’s complete paintings.
The majority of the works displayed are portraits, landscapes paintings, and abstract paintings. Some move beyond sketches and could be considered almost complete paintings, including this painting, “Kieu,” which portrays a woman holding a four-chord lute.
This painting, which portrays landscapes in a rural area, is almost complete as well.
Thuan says dates of all of the paintings exhibited could not be estimated, as the painter did not put dates on them.
Tri’s sketch of a peacock. Most of the sketches have been preserved in good conditions and have the painter’s signature on them.
“Through this exhibition, I figured out how hardworking Nguyen Gia Tri was,” says Nguyen Thi Thuy Nguyen, 23, an exhibition visitor.
The exhibition runs from June 1 to June 8, at 29A Ngo Thoi Nhiem street, District 3.
Nguyen Gia Tri was born in 1908 in the Hanoi neighborhood of Chuong My. He graduated from the Indochina College of Fine Arts in 1936. He is considered one of the four masters of Vietnamese painting, as well as one of the most important lacquer artists ever.
His artworks were often made with delicate and high-quality paints, screens and wooden boards. The majority of his works portray nature and the landscapes of Vietnam.
Many high-ranking French officials and businessmen in Indochina visited him and bought his works.
He died in Ho Chi Minh City in 1993.
In January 2023, his painting “Villageoises parmi des bananiers” was sold for $1.08 million by French auction house Drouot Estimations.
