Over 50 years after Viet Nam won her independence from France through revolutionary struggle, a French artist commemorates the life of Ho Chi Minh with a beautiful painting. Bach Lien reports.
When words fail to convey a message, paintings can help. They’ve been working for French artist Claude Bouvier, who uses the medium to shows his love for Viet Nam.
He recently donated a giant painting of President Ho Chi Minh, which he made from seventy 20×20cm images of Vietnamese scenes space, to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Ha Noi.
The vivid portrait was drawn with great love and respect by the French painter.
“I took great pleasure in painting this picture,” said the painter.
More than 50 years ago, Claude Bouvier took part in demonstrations against the war in Viet Nam. Now, he works to promote friendship between France and Viet Nam.
Peaceful Viet Nam
This week, the giant oil portrait of uncle Ho, measuring 1.4×2m, was given by Bouvier to the museum through Madam Pierrette Lamorlette, a member of the Soleils des Francophonies, a humanitarian association in Nha Trang City.
The portraits dominant colours are yellow, representing sunlight, and blue, symbolising peace. Seventy small squares were gathered to make up the painting. The images show peaceful landscapes and the nation’s original cultural traits.
On the top right of the painting, there is a small portrait of Ho Chi Minh. The other simple black and white squares represent other familiar images: women with conical hats rowing boats, men carrying fish, bicycles, cyclos, sailboats and Ha Long Bay. Together, they create the image of the great President.
Bouvier says he created the painting in a month, working “day and night”.
This is the second large painting of President Ho Chi Minh made by Bouvier. He dedicated the first one to Khanh Hoa province’s People’s Committee. It was acclaimed at the Sea Festival in Nha Trang in 2005.
“In 2005, Yvon Dupre, President of the association Soleils des Francophonies, asked me to paint something for the Sea Festival exhibition in Nha Trang. He gave me information about Nha Trang and Viet Nam. I wanted to pay homage to the Vietnamese nation for its struggle for liberation. That’s why I decided to make a portrait of Uncle Ho,” he said.
“Some months later, Dupre told me he had met authorities in Ha Noi who wanted the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh to go to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Ha Noi.
“I accepted this proposition with pleasure and made another portrait. I offered it to the cadre of French-Vietnamese friendship.”
Lamorlette, who was given permission by Bouvier to offer the painting to the museum, said, “The two paintings are very similar, almost the same. He made it with deep love and profound respect for President Ho Chi Minh.”
Vu Thi Nhi, deputy director of the museum said, “The painting not only shows the love for uncle Ho by French and international friends, it also highlights the friendly co-operation between the two countries over recent years.”
The painting will soon be placed in the exhibition room beside photos of Jacques Duclos, former French communist party leader, a close friend of Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people.
According to Nhi, “It will be preserved in the museum’s storehouse. It will be displayed often for special exhibitions at the museum,” she said.
