Hanoi Museum of Fine Art: Lacquer

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Vietnamese Lacquer Painting:

Lacquer painting is a form of painting with lacquer which was practiced in China, Korea and Japan for decoration on lacquerware and found its way to Europe both via Persia and by direct contact with Asia.  The genre was revived and developed as a distinct genre of fine art painting by Vietnamese artists in the 1930's, the genre is known in Vietnamese as 'son mai.'

 Bamboos and Bananas.  1958.  Lacquer.  Nguyen Van Binh.

 Ky Lua Market.  1960.  Lacquer.  Nguyen Trong Niet.

 Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Complex.  1962.  Lacquer Engraving.  Bui Trang Chuoc.

 Harvest Time.  1980.  Lacquer.  Nguyen Hoang Kim.

 Coastal Home Land.  1980.  Lacquer.  Mai Van Ke.


The lacquer works are beautiful.  Many are subtly political.
Much of the art in the Hanoi Museum is overtly political, whether lacquer or not.

Heroic Art

It was startling how much art in the Hanoi Museum of Fine Arts were heroic depictions from 20th century wars.

 Playing as Little Soldiers.  1949.  Woodcut.  Tran Van Can.

 Carrying an Anti-Tank Mine in a Death-Braving Spirit.  1960.  Bronze.  Tran Van Hoe.

 Hauling Cannons.  1957.  Lacquer.  Duong Huong Minh.

 Ceremony Admitting a New Member to the Communist Party at Dien Bien Phu.  1963.  Lacquer.  Nguyen Sang.

 Farmers' Struggle  Against Taxation.  1960. Lacquer.  Nguyen Tu Nghiem.

 Portrait of a Soldier.  1964.  Oil on Canvas.  Nguyen Trung.

Ho Chi Minh Art in Hanoi Museum

A noticeable category of political art in the Hanoi Museum features Ho Chi Minh -
'Uncle Ho.'

Uncle Ho Plays with Children;  1960.  Lacquer.  Hoang Tich Chu.

Uncle Ho in Viet Bac Resistance Base.  1980.  Lacquer.  Duon Bich Lien.

President Ho at Work in Bac Bo Palace.  1946.  Woodcut.  To Ngoc Van.

Source of Water.  1982.  Oil on Canvas.  Nguyen Trong Kiem.

Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam in the 20th Century

It is hard to overstate the importance of Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) to modern Vietnam.
He left the country as a young man and worked for Vietnam independence abroad for 30 years, returned to northern Vietnam and founded the Communist party, led the fight for independence in the country for almost thirty years and was Prime Minister and President.  He died in 1969 before the end of the Vietnam War and the unification of the country.  His image is everywhere.  This is his tomb in central Hanoi.

The adjacent Ho Chi Minh Museum.

Ho Chi Minh had many names and aliases during his life, up to 200 pseudonyms.

The map below shows his travels during the 30 years he lived outside of Vietnam from 1911 to 1941.

 These were two posters on a wall outside a construction zone on a HCMC/Saigon street.
They depict a time of great glory and achievement, when Ho Chi Minh led the north Vietnamese to defeat the French at Diem Bien Phu in 1953.

Poster celebrating 90 years of the Vietnamese Communist Party.  The sign read:
"The founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is considered the most significant event, marking a very important turning point in the history of Vietnamese revolution and thereby confirming the merits of Nguyen Ai Quoc- Ho Chi Minh with role as the founder, leader and trainer of the CPV.
Along with the strong development of the CPV, President Ho Chi Minh always dedicated wholeheartedly and intellectually to the cause of building and developing the Party so that it should be really strong in all aspects to steer the Vietnamese revolutionary boat to glorious shore.  Up to now, Ho Chi Minh's thought is still a guideline for the Party to bring the Vietnamese people from victory to victory.
On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPV, 130 years of President Ho Chi Minh's birth, his vestiges in the Presidential Palace complex organizes the exhibition with the subject:  President Ho Chi Minh - The founder, leader and trainer of the Communist Party of Vietnam."

Ho Chi Minh Museum: Soviet Woman Exhibit

The Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi had an exhibit from the Soviet Union of posters depicting roles and messages involving women.  
It was a fascinating lesson in propaganda promoting the socialist state.

 1921:  "The husband, who used to drag his wife by hair, is now reading a newspaper aloud for her."

 "Life has become better, comrades.  Life has become merrier.  And when life is cheerful, work becomes more effective."  Joseph Stalin, 1936

 "Let us integrate skiing into the lives of workers and collective farmers."  Moscow 1935

Ho Chi Minh Museum; Socialist Surreal

The top floor of the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi has the most surprising, strange and inexplicable displays.
Reminded me of a 1980's nightclub.
I didn't get the museum displays, but then I didn't get 1980's nightclubs either.

Images from Cycling Trip Through Vietnam

Rice plants, growing in paddies, here forming seed grains.
Rice was the most common crop seen - and eaten!

A woman doing laundry in northern Vietnam.

There was a surprising number of fancy newly built houses, like the one below.
Usually there was a Vietnamese or communist party flag.

Taking a break from biking; karst limestone landscape of northern Vietnam.

The Amitabha Buddha stone statue in the HCMC/Saigon Museum of History; 
from the Phat Tich Pagoda, in the year 1057, Ly Dynasty, shortly before Dai Viet independence from China.

Round Basket Boats

Round Basket Boats are made of bamboo; they actually work!
They are characteristic of Vietnam.

Cycling People

The February Vietnam bike trip was with a company called Intrepid Travel.
We were blessed with a great tour leader, a bike mechanic and bus driver.
Here is Mr Ong, who transported bikes and raised our spirits, and Mr Ong standing with Tim

Probably waiting for me to take pictures in the Highlands.
Oh yes, there was some bike repair needed as well.

The team with jerseys and bus above.
Below, the girls.

Vietnam is about 2,000 km long; we biked 650 km of the distance from Hanoi to HCMC/Saigon.  The rest was on bus and one night on a train.

We were mostly along the coast, except the Mai Chau valley southwest of Hanoi and the Highlands around Dalat.

Biking through Rice Paddies

Lowland rice thrives in wet, flat, warm environments.
Rice cultivation in Vietnam is greatest in the two large delta areas, the Mekong in the south and the Red River in the north.
Our bike trip started in Hanoi, then southwest and east to the coast.
This section of the trip was in limestone karst landscapes with flat paddies and rugged peaks.