Nguyễn Sáng (1923-1988)
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“I prefer our folk paintings to Matisse’s work.” - Nguyễn Sáng
Nguyễn Sáng was a Vietnamese modern artist born in the Tien Giang Province of Southern Vietnam in 1923. Sáng is best known for his works in pumice lacquer and oil paint and is thought of as the leader of the influential “Quoc-Nghiem-Phai” quartet of modern Vietnamese artists. One of Sáng’s key artistic achievements was his use of lacquer to paint scenes of Vietnamese life—including war and everyday activities—in a style that was harmonious and modern. Sáng’s works speak both to the human condition and to the rich cultural potential of the Vietnamese nation and its people.
Nguyễn Sáng was one of three sons of a teacher father and merchant mother. As a teenager, he began his art studies in 1936-8 when he entered the Gia Dinh School of Fine Arts in Saigon. He then entered the 1940-45 class of the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine (College of Fine Arts of Vietnam) in Hanoi during the era of Japanese occupation. He was one of the few students from South Vietnam to receive advanced art training in the North and then remain there as many of his classmates eventually returned to South Vietnam or emigrated to France. Sáng,
Sáng was sympathetic to the ideas and values of the revolution, which he joined in Hanoi in August of 1945. In his autobiography he explained: “The art students of the period were influenced by the revolution—the Indochinese Communist Party—so there was a political tendency to overthrow the exploitative oppression of the French.” Sáng’s contributions to the revolutionary efforts including drawing propaganda images as well as designing stamps and banknotes. He created the first postage stamp for independent Vietnam, which bore the likeness of Hồ Chí Minh. In 1949, during the period of a resistance war in the mountains of Viet Bac, Sáng was commissioned to created a second set of stamps commemorating Hồ Chí Minh’s 59th birthday.
In 1953 Sáng was assigned to work in land reclamation and also visited the battlefield in Laos. In 1954, after peace was restored in the north Sáng became quite productive, creating illustrations and working in varied media including pastel, oil and lacquer. Increasing pressure to paint images that served the ideology of the new Communist government meant that Sáng and other artists were expected to work in the Social Realist style, which he resisted. He was one of the artists involved in the Nhan Van Giai Pham affair of 1956, during which artists proposed “art for art’s sake” rather than the government’s line of “art for the people.”
When American bombers attacked North Vietnam in 1964, Sáng remained in Hanoi painting portraits including his artist friends Bui Xuan, Duong Bich Lien and Nguyen Tran. He also painted and sketched in the mountainous area of Cao Bằng.
Between 1966 and 1974 Sáng made paintings in oil and lacquer depicting characteristically Vietnamese subjects including Pagodas, horses and eagles. While living the Ho Chi Minh City after 1977 he painted portraits, girls and women and also social gatherings, often working with lacquer in large formats. His style varied from realistic to imaginative and stylized. He continued to live and paint in humble circumstances into the 1980s.
In 1984 the Vietnam Fine Arts Association (in cooperation with the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum) organized the first survey exhibition of Sáng’s work in honor of his 60th birthday. It included some 140 works in oil and lacquer as well as wood carvings and pastels. Nguyễn Sáng died on December 16, 1988, celebrated as an artist who was socially enlightened and proud of his nation’s struggle. In 1996 he was posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh prize in Literature and Fine Art.
Nguyễn Sáng was a Vietnamese modern artist born in the Tien Giang Province of Southern Vietnam in 1923. Sáng is best known for his works in pumice lacquer and oil paint and is thought of as the leader of the influential “Quoc-Nghiem-Phai” quartet of modern Vietnamese artists. One of Sáng’s key artistic achievements was his use of lacquer to paint scenes of Vietnamese life—including war and everyday activities—in a style that was harmonious and modern. Sáng’s works speak both to the human condition and to the rich cultural potential of the Vietnamese nation and its people.
Nguyễn Sáng was one of three sons of a teacher father and merchant mother. As a teenager, he began his art studies in 1936-8 when he entered the Gia Dinh School of Fine Arts in Saigon. He then entered the 1940-45 class of the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine (College of Fine Arts of Vietnam) in Hanoi during the era of Japanese occupation. He was one of the few students from South Vietnam to receive advanced art training in the North and then remain there as many of his classmates eventually returned to South Vietnam or emigrated to France. Sáng,
Sáng was sympathetic to the ideas and values of the revolution, which he joined in Hanoi in August of 1945. In his autobiography he explained: “The art students of the period were influenced by the revolution—the Indochinese Communist Party—so there was a political tendency to overthrow the exploitative oppression of the French.” Sáng’s contributions to the revolutionary efforts including drawing propaganda images as well as designing stamps and banknotes. He created the first postage stamp for independent Vietnam, which bore the likeness of Hồ Chí Minh. In 1949, during the period of a resistance war in the mountains of Viet Bac, Sáng was commissioned to created a second set of stamps commemorating Hồ Chí Minh’s 59th birthday.
In 1953 Sáng was assigned to work in land reclamation and also visited the battlefield in Laos. In 1954, after peace was restored in the north Sáng became quite productive, creating illustrations and working in varied media including pastel, oil and lacquer. Increasing pressure to paint images that served the ideology of the new Communist government meant that Sáng and other artists were expected to work in the Social Realist style, which he resisted. He was one of the artists involved in the Nhan Van Giai Pham affair of 1956, during which artists proposed “art for art’s sake” rather than the government’s line of “art for the people.”
When American bombers attacked North Vietnam in 1964, Sáng remained in Hanoi painting portraits including his artist friends Bui Xuan, Duong Bich Lien and Nguyen Tran. He also painted and sketched in the mountainous area of Cao Bằng.
Between 1966 and 1974 Sáng made paintings in oil and lacquer depicting characteristically Vietnamese subjects including Pagodas, horses and eagles. While living the Ho Chi Minh City after 1977 he painted portraits, girls and women and also social gatherings, often working with lacquer in large formats. His style varied from realistic to imaginative and stylized. He continued to live and paint in humble circumstances into the 1980s.
In 1984 the Vietnam Fine Arts Association (in cooperation with the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum) organized the first survey exhibition of Sáng’s work in honor of his 60th birthday. It included some 140 works in oil and lacquer as well as wood carvings and pastels. Nguyễn Sáng died on December 16, 1988, celebrated as an artist who was socially enlightened and proud of his nation’s struggle. In 1996 he was posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh prize in Literature and Fine Art.