Dr. Trieu Khac Tien
Vietnamese Fine Arts University
Vietnamese modern art is always associated with the birth and the development history of Indochina Fine Arts College (the precursor of Vietnamese Fine Arts University). It was the cradle of generations of elite artists who knew how to cleverly combine Western academic painting techniques with the traditional identity of national art, changing the face of Vietnamese fine art in the early 20th century. There was a person who made a huge contribution to the establishment of said famous school, who also laid the first foundation which opened the way to shape Vietnamese modern art’s development. He was the famous artist – the first principal, Victor Tardieu.
Victor Tardieu was born on April 30th 1870 in city of Lyon, France. His artistic disposition was manifested soon when he studied fine art at Lyon Fine Arts School (1887-1889). He then continued his study at Paris Fine Arts School from 1889 to 1891.
Victor Tardieu
The turning point in his life was when he won the Indochina Prize (Prix de l’Indochine) in 1920, which rewarded him a one-year tour to Indochina. The trip was like a red string closely connecting his whole life to the land and people of An Nam which were imbrued with national colors.
In Hanoi, from 1921 to 1927, he created a large size painting (77m2) for the main hall of Indochina University which was under construction. By discovering Vietnamese culture and people through his own creating art process, Victor Tardieu realized that Indochina had a rich and diverse traditional art; the aestheticism of the people here was delicate; if properly trained, a unique art would surely be built. Therefore he started a long campaign for an art school in Vietnam, which he heartily cheered for. The result of it was the decision to establish Indochina Fine Arts College signed by Governor-General of Indochina M. Merlin on October 27th 1924. The college trained its first course in 1925. Artist Victor Tardieu was appointed the principal. He and his Vietnamese partner – artist Nam Son – poured their hearts and soul into building a school specializing in arts and painting. He held this position until his death on June 12th 1937 in Hanoi.
Right from the first days of establishments, the team structure of professors and lecturers was carefully selected; Indochina Fine Arts College’s education principles and training programs showed a right direction, signaling the early achievements of outstanding talented students such as Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van, Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Le Van De, Nguyen Tu Khiem… As a testimony about his humane education philosophy, which was without rigid training, excellent teacher Victor Tardieu allowed students to ignore every imposition of Western painting’s trends and schools. Instead, Tardieu and his colleagues transmitted to students the basic painting techniques, especially oil painting; on the other hand, they always inspired and encouraged students to explore and exploit the values of the traditional cultural root and traditional artistic heritages, to promote national spirit in individual creativity, and to form the unique identity of Vietnamese modern art in the early 20th century.
Students and teachers of Indochina Fine Arts College in 1930
Indochina Fine Arts College was also the birthplace of a new painting language, which is considered a “specialty” of Vietnamese fine art – pumice lacquer. The 1925-1932 period marked a lot of research and experiments of local lacquer material of first class students under the guidance of French professors (Joseph Inguimberty, Alix Aymé). They, along with artisan Dinh Van Thanh, were searching for a technique which could create puce lacquer from Phu Tho’s local one, could be grinded with vermilion and specialized painting colors, could be covered with many layers combining with gild gold and silver. After drying, said lacquer will be water-grinded and produce an extremely deep and magical color blend. Principle Tardieu also had the eyes that could find gold in the sand, as he personally brought “stubborn student” Nguyen Gia Tri back to Indochina Fine Arts School for continue training. Later, with talent and hard work, ground breaking creativity in Nguyen Gia Tri and other contemporary artists’ lacquer paintings has brought Vietnamese lacquer art to a unique level, which cannot be mixed to lacquer painting of other countries.
Nearly a century has passed with many changes of Vietnamese fine art’s appearance. However, so far, the quintessential flow of Indochina Fine Art, founded by Victor Tardieu, remains the constant source of power, inspiring many generations of young artists today to inherit and promote traditional values of our predecessors in individual creativity, together put the art boat of the country turning waves into the big sea.
February, 2020.
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