Nghe An artist recreates color portrait of a relative of President Ho Chi Minh
(Baonghean.vn) - On the occasion of the Spring of Giap Thin 2024, Hoang Thi Loan Textile Joint Stock Company presented the Kim Lien National Special Relic Site with a set of color paintings of President Ho Chi Minh's family members. This set of paintings was restored by artist Nguyen To Canh, a son of Nghe An.
Pride drives the artist
Painter Nguyen To Canh (born in 1972), former Party Secretary and General Director of Hoang Thi Loan Textile Joint Stock Company, currently lives in Trung Do ward, Vinh city.
Having been associated with Hoang Thi Loan Textile Joint Stock Company for many years, the predecessor of which was a state-owned enterprise honored to be named after Uncle Ho's mother, I always feel proud. During my work, I always wondered and thought that in addition to building and developing the company, contributing to social security for the locality, creating jobs for workers, I needed to do something practical and specific to remember and show gratitude to Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan and Uncle Ho's family to be worthy of the enterprise being honored to be named after her. And the idea of restoring portraits of Uncle Ho's relatives was formed from there.
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Painter Nguyen To Canh
To carry out this idea, painter Nguyen To Canh has many times returned to offer incense at the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan on Dong Tranh mountain (Nam Dan) and to Cao Lanh city (Dong Thap) to offer incense at the tomb of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac.
With basic training in fine arts, along with passion and respect, the author wishes to restore portraits of Uncle Ho's family members, including his father, mother, brother and sister, to preserve the dear and precious images for future generations.
Starting his work, artist Nguyen To Canh took the trouble to search for many sources of documents, articles, and images from the internet, books, newspapers, and museums, but unfortunately, each of Uncle Ho's relatives only had one photo. The photo of Nguyen Sinh Sac was taken in 1923; the photo of Hoang Thi Loan was restored from the photo of his daughter and younger sister, Hoang Thi An; the photo of Nguyen Sinh Khiem and Nguyen Thi Thanh was taken at the end of 1946.
These photos are all black and white and have faded and are no longer clear. Therefore, the author has spent a lot of time researching and restoring the portraits with oil on canvas that can last for hundreds of years.
During the process, there were times when he encountered difficulties, but his love and respect for Uncle Ho's family was the driving force that urged the artist to continue with his work, and also the inspiration that guided the author to complete each photo.
In addition, painter Nguyen To Canh also received encouragement, evaluation, comments, and contributions from famous painters such as painter Nguyen Dinh Truyen - Head of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association in Nghe An; painter Nguyen Huu Tuan currently working for Nghe An Newspaper...
Especially the attention and support from the Director of Kim Lien National Special Relic Site - Mr. Nguyen Bao Tuan. That has helped painter Nguyen To Canh to be more confident in each stroke and color block.
Passion in every stroke
After many months of hard work, by the end of 2023, artist Nguyen To Canh had completed four highly accurate color portraits, which were evaluated by experts as accurately expressing the spirit and emotions of each character. Each portrait clearly shows the features of each face, exuding the beauty and virtues of each person.
The portrait of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac (Uncle Ho's father) exudes the intelligence, strictness and thoughtfulness of a Confucian scholar before the country's plight. The portrait of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan (Uncle Ho's mother) exudes the gentleness, kindness, hard work and sacrifice of Vietnamese women. The portrait of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Khiem (Uncle Ho's older brother) has many similarities with his father, Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac. The portrait of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thanh (Uncle Ho's older sister) exudes intelligence, determination and love.
Painter Nguyen Dinh Truyen - Head of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association in Nghe An commented: "I highly appreciate the meaningful work of painter Nguyen To Canh. He has devoted a lot of heart and courage to the work of restoring the portraits of Uncle Ho's family members. And he is the first person to do that work, because no one has ever painted this set of color paintings before."
In the coming time, artist Nguyen To Canh plans to spend time researching and continuing to restore photos of Uncle Ho and revolutionary predecessors, patriots, and famous people and artists of the country to preserve for future generations.
The sharing of Mr. Nguyen Bao Tuan - Director of Kim Lien National Special Relic Site always makes the artist feel satisfied: "The life and revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh has touched every thought and heart not only of Vietnamese people, but also of international friends".
That is also the motivation and inspiration for painter Nguyen To Canh to continuously learn and create in his artistic journey.
Painter Nguyen To Canh confided: “Completing the portraits of Uncle Ho's relatives, I am truly happy, joyful and proud to have done something meaningful. This set of paintings, displayed at the Kim Lien National Special Relic Site, will help people and tourists have a clearer and more specific picture of the faces of President Ho Chi Minh's relatives and loved ones. That has inspired me to nurture new plans on my creative path.”