Lương Xuân Nhị (1914-2006)
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“I accept everything, but still find my own way of drawing: elegant and gentle, realistic, dreamy, a fresh impression and fanciful beauty.” - Lương Xuân Nhị
Lương Xuân Nhị, an important Vietnamese modern artist is best known for his varied and elegant paintings of Vietnamese women. Nhi was often referred to as 'the master of the color green’ and that color, inspired by Vietnam’s verdant countryside, plays a role in many of his paintings. He painted in a variety of media including oil, gouache on silk and watercolor.
Lương Xuân Nhị was a graduate of the seventh session of the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine (College of Fine Arts of Vietnam) studying there from 1932 to 1937. Along with his fellow students Nguyen Do Cung, Luu Van Sin and Hoang Lap Ngon, Nhi formed the “Fraeta” group, all of whom took an interest in European the painting subjects and methods espoused by their French instructors. After the death of the college’s founder, Victor Tardieu, a new director arrived and asserted that its purpose was to train artisans—not artists—and he set up a traditional lacquer cooperative that required artists to follow fixed forms and guidelines. This angered many artists, including Nhi’s colleague Nguyen Do Cung, who published a newspaper article protesting these policies. As a result the four members of the group were expelled from attending the college.
After their expulsion, the Fraeta group went on to hold a group exhibition at the Khai Tri Tien Duc Association. A controversy ensued, as this exhibition appeared to challenge the intent of the French colonial government, who responded by proposing to limit Vietnamese artists to a single annual exhibition. A meeting with the French governor, Jean Decoux, reversed the situation when he told Lương Xuân Nhị: “I will hang your painting here. Eventually, after he and his friends were re-admitted to college, all of Lương Xuân Nhị paintings were bought by the school’s board of directors of and brought to Paris for display.
In 1942 Lương Xuân Nhị traveled to Japan, where he made many works, including images of women and landscapes, in colored pencil. Nhi also later traveled to Germany, Algeria, and the Soviet Union where he gathered impressions of many subjects, especially women. As Lương Xuân Nhị once explained:
I studied in Europe, drawing, expressing shapes, light and color in real life immediately after being carefully trained (at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine). The art of the Orient is comprehensive, depicting the visual identity of the artist, capturing the spirit of the scene and the person.
When the anti-French war of resistance broke out in 1945, Nhi moved to the My Hao, Hung Yen province where he helped spread anti-war propaganda. He was responsible for create numerous anti-war paintings which were intended to convince enemy troops to join the revolution. Some of his paintings were hung along National Highway five, where French troops often took them down. They were also included in leaflets. It has been said that some of the leaflets and their images were so moving the French soldiers who read them cried and actually changed sides.
In 1954, after peace had been restored on North Vietnam, the artist returned to serve as a lecturer at the University of Fine Arts of Vietnam. He taught there for over thirty years, training notable artists including Phan Ke An, Mai Van Hien and Than Troung Su. Over the years he was given many awards including First Prize at the Capital Art Show (1968) and also honored as a senior member of the National Committee for Vietnamese Literature and Arts (1996 and 1998). In 2001 he was awarded the State Prize for Art and Literature.
On his 90th birthday in 2003, the artist said: "I have learnt a lot from the life, people and nature of the country. I find a rule in the mountain, river, plant and field structures. I find my emotions in the colors of nature. My paintings live together with the life and beauty of the nation.”
Nhi also stated the he regretted being unable to ride his bicycle, as he used to do as a young man to observe scenery and gather ideas for paintings.
Lương Xuân Nhị’s works are on display at the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts and also in museum and private collections in Paris, New York and Tokyo. In 1990 he was awarded the title “People’s Teacher” by the government of Vietnam. He also received the State Prize in Arts and Literature in 2001.
Lương Xuân Nhị, an important Vietnamese modern artist is best known for his varied and elegant paintings of Vietnamese women. Nhi was often referred to as 'the master of the color green’ and that color, inspired by Vietnam’s verdant countryside, plays a role in many of his paintings. He painted in a variety of media including oil, gouache on silk and watercolor.
Lương Xuân Nhị was a graduate of the seventh session of the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine (College of Fine Arts of Vietnam) studying there from 1932 to 1937. Along with his fellow students Nguyen Do Cung, Luu Van Sin and Hoang Lap Ngon, Nhi formed the “Fraeta” group, all of whom took an interest in European the painting subjects and methods espoused by their French instructors. After the death of the college’s founder, Victor Tardieu, a new director arrived and asserted that its purpose was to train artisans—not artists—and he set up a traditional lacquer cooperative that required artists to follow fixed forms and guidelines. This angered many artists, including Nhi’s colleague Nguyen Do Cung, who published a newspaper article protesting these policies. As a result the four members of the group were expelled from attending the college.
After their expulsion, the Fraeta group went on to hold a group exhibition at the Khai Tri Tien Duc Association. A controversy ensued, as this exhibition appeared to challenge the intent of the French colonial government, who responded by proposing to limit Vietnamese artists to a single annual exhibition. A meeting with the French governor, Jean Decoux, reversed the situation when he told Lương Xuân Nhị: “I will hang your painting here. Eventually, after he and his friends were re-admitted to college, all of Lương Xuân Nhị paintings were bought by the school’s board of directors of and brought to Paris for display.
In 1942 Lương Xuân Nhị traveled to Japan, where he made many works, including images of women and landscapes, in colored pencil. Nhi also later traveled to Germany, Algeria, and the Soviet Union where he gathered impressions of many subjects, especially women. As Lương Xuân Nhị once explained:
I studied in Europe, drawing, expressing shapes, light and color in real life immediately after being carefully trained (at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine). The art of the Orient is comprehensive, depicting the visual identity of the artist, capturing the spirit of the scene and the person.
When the anti-French war of resistance broke out in 1945, Nhi moved to the My Hao, Hung Yen province where he helped spread anti-war propaganda. He was responsible for create numerous anti-war paintings which were intended to convince enemy troops to join the revolution. Some of his paintings were hung along National Highway five, where French troops often took them down. They were also included in leaflets. It has been said that some of the leaflets and their images were so moving the French soldiers who read them cried and actually changed sides.
In 1954, after peace had been restored on North Vietnam, the artist returned to serve as a lecturer at the University of Fine Arts of Vietnam. He taught there for over thirty years, training notable artists including Phan Ke An, Mai Van Hien and Than Troung Su. Over the years he was given many awards including First Prize at the Capital Art Show (1968) and also honored as a senior member of the National Committee for Vietnamese Literature and Arts (1996 and 1998). In 2001 he was awarded the State Prize for Art and Literature.
On his 90th birthday in 2003, the artist said: "I have learnt a lot from the life, people and nature of the country. I find a rule in the mountain, river, plant and field structures. I find my emotions in the colors of nature. My paintings live together with the life and beauty of the nation.”
Nhi also stated the he regretted being unable to ride his bicycle, as he used to do as a young man to observe scenery and gather ideas for paintings.
Lương Xuân Nhị’s works are on display at the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts and also in museum and private collections in Paris, New York and Tokyo. In 1990 he was awarded the title “People’s Teacher” by the government of Vietnam. He also received the State Prize in Arts and Literature in 2001.