HÀ NỘI For the first time the largest oil on canvas by late artist-soldier Huỳnh Phương Đông is on a display at Việt Nam Museum of Fine Arts (VNAM).

The 7.6m-long painting Chiến Thắng Ấp Bắc (Victory at Ấp Bắc) depicts the resounding victory of the liberation fighters over the US-Sài Gòn armed forces in a historic battle in the southern province of Tiền Giang, about 65km southwest of Sài Gòn (now HCM City).

Đông (1925-2015) did not witness the battle at the time because he was heading South from the North, according to his wife Lê Thị Thu, at the exhibition's opening ceremony at VNAM. 

"He went to Ấp Bắc and was told by local people about the battle," Thu said. "The battle happened in early 1963, and he painted it from his imagination."

After graduating from the Gia Định Fine Arts Training School in Sài Gòn (now HCM City) in 1945, Đông, whose real name was Huỳnh Công Nhãn, joined the resistance army to fight against the French occupation force (1945-1954).

After the Điện Biên Phủ Victory in 1954, he continued with his studies, majoring in sculpture at the Việt Nam Fine Arts College in Hà Nội (1957-1963). As both an artist and a soldier, he actively took part in the resistance wars against both French and later American forces.

Huỳnh Phương Đông became his alias in 1963, when he walked along the Trường Sơn Mountain Range to join the South Việt Nam Liberation Force and work as a painter in the southeastern battlefield.

"It is difficult to choose which painting I like the most," a visitor at the exhibition, Mai Anh, said.

"But perhaps I am most impressed with the painting Victory at Ấp Bắc. Looking at all the artist's paintings I feel war was depicted very vividly. For a young person like me, not directly witnessing that time, I feel very emotional and grateful for the sacrifices of the elder generations."

The painting is among 150 works by the artist displayed at VNAM on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation Day and National Reunification in April 30, and in celebration of the centenary of the birth of the artist.

The paintings are in a variety of media including graphite, watercolour, pen and ink, gouache and silk. Other depictions include historic pieces such as the La Ngà Battle, the Y-shaped Bridge Battlefield, and legendary locations like the Củ Chi guerrilla warfare tunnels and the Rừng Sác military base.

The artist's paintings and sketches, with urgent and evocative strokes, are not only powerful works of art, but also work as vivid historical records bearing witness to the sacrifices, courage and spirit of Vietnamese army and people.

Following the national liberation, the artist continued to capture the vibrancy of everyday life, drawing farmers, workers, children and heroic Vietnamese mothers who together contributed to the development of the nation.

 

"The exhibition brings visitors back to the heroic years of struggle, to relive the unforgettable memories through the brushes of a courageous and devoted artist-soldier," said VNAM director Nguyễn Anh Minh.

"Hopefully it will inspire young people to appreciate the value of peace, the sacrifices of older generations, and to uphold the enduring traditions of our nation."

The exhibition runs until May 2 at 66 Nguyễn Thái Học Street.  VNS