A little bit about the history of Vietnamese art
Vietnamese fine art is one of the oldest art in Asia, dating back to the Stone Age around 8,000 BC. Although many of its elements were influenced by China and other oriental streams, then by French colonization in the 19th century, Vietnamese fine art still finds its way with unique touches. .
Evidence from many relics and antics shows that Vietnamese Fine Arts developed as early as the Stone Age in 8,000 BC and then later Neolithic, with works of art basically made from clay and simple decoration.
Bronze Age Art
Dong Son Bronze Drum – Heritage of Vietnam
Moving to the Bronze Age (1,000 years BC to the 4th century BC), Vietnamese fine arts developed highly with the famous Dong Son culture in Northern Vietnam. Dong Son culture is world famous for its skillful bronze casting skills, creating Dong Son bronze drums decorated with geometric patterns and vivid pictures of daily life. More specifically, the images on these drums show people wearing textiles with intricate patterns.
Dominion from 111 BC to AD 939
Under the rule of the Han, Liang and Tang dynasties in the North, Vietnamese Fine Arts absorbed many new techniques into pottery and ceramic art, and continued to develop its own with indigenous techniques, which has can be found in tombs excavated in the North. of Vietnam.
From Ngo to Tran
Strongly influenced by Chinese Fine Arts due to a long period of domination with philosophies such as Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism or Taoism on most works of art, Vietnamese Fine Arts has found its own independence in this golden age to develop to a higher level of ceramic art. . During the Ly Dynasty, Vietnamese ceramics even enjoyed a stable international position throughout East and Southeast Asia with reliable products. This golden era also saw the emergence of historical architectural masterpieces that have stood so far such as Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, Quynh Lam Pagoda.
The fourth domination of the Ming and Le dynasties
Although it lasted only 2 decades, this was really a harsh time for the development of Vietnamese Fine Arts as all Vietnamese masterpieces and documents were burned down and many documents were lost. about the independence period is also lost.
When the Le Dynasty succeeded, Vietnamese art was strongly influenced by the Ming Dynasty of the Chinese.
During this time period, saw a renewed interest in Vietnamese ceramic art and ceramics were prized and distributed to imperial courts along Asia.
With its long history, calligraphy is undoubtedly an important part of Vietnamese fine arts, which uses Chinese and Nom characters. Nowadays, modern calligraphers prefer to use Quoc Ngu script for their artworks. In the past, the treatment of calligraphy is still a beautiful cultural feature of Vietnamese people during Tet.
From the beginning of the 19th century, a very different flow came from the West along with the flight of the French colonialists to Vietnam. Therefore, some artists from well-to-do backgrounds have had the opportunity to study art abroad in France and then return to spread French art techniques, creating special combinations with traditional media such as silk, lacquer, etc.
Vietnam’s visual arts are best known for their silk paintings and woodcuts. In particular, Vietnamese silk paintings are the most popular because they are influenced by the coloring techniques of French art from the 19th-20th centuries. This art form is highly appreciated in the Chinese and Japanese markets.