Hanoi (VNA) - ☂“I cannot imagine why one could treat such an invaluable picture that has been recognized as a National Treasure like this." Fine art researcher Nguyen Do Bao (former President of the Association) Art of Hanoi) uttered before the information about the work 'Vuon Xuan Trung Nam Bac' of renown painter Nguyen Gia Tri was damaged due to improper intervention in the process of cleaning and preservation.

The treasure cannot be restored

According to  researcher and art critic Nguyen Do Bao, "Vuong Xuan Trung Nam Bac" is a synthesis of all achievements in the half-century exploring creative arts and lacquer painting techniques of famous artist Nguyen Gia Tri. The painting is recognized as a National Treasure under Decision No. 2599/QD-TTg (December 30, 2013) of the Prime Minister.

However, in recent time, public opinion has "stirred up" as the national treasure was damaged.

✅ Through checking, Vi Kien Thanh - Director of Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) said that Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts handed over the picture to Luu Minh Phung - a lacquer worker in Ho Chi Minh City to clean up and preserve the work.

Unaware of the artistic value of the painting, Luu Minh Phung used dishwashing liquid and gouache, 2,000 sandpaper to interfere excessively when cleaning the surface of the painting, causing damage. Leader of the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition said that, in terms of mental damage, the space, atmosphere and soul of the work were damaged about 30 percent. Specifically, due to the impact on the surface of the work, the surface paint of the work was lost, so the flexibility and sophistication of the paint, eggshell and gold-plated plates, typical of Nguyen Gia Tri's lacquer art, is no longer available. In terms of physical damage, the shell plates were abraded and exposed, the yellow inlaid is eroded; strokes and contiguous plates are exposed, inert, losing the delicate flair between the plates and the strokes. The surface material damage was about 15 percent.

Vi Kien Thanh said that the painting could hardly restore its primitive status  because the most important elements of lacquer painting (soul, spirit and atmosphere in the painting) were affected and damaged a lot. This is an unrecoverable part.

Lack of management accountability

Fine art researcher and researcher Nguyen Do Bao said that the way to preserve and prevent the hygiene of such works was wrong both in process and method, demonstrating the casual and rough treatment towards an art work which was classified as a masterpiece of Vietnamese fine arts. Talking more about the issue, Nguyen Do Bao said that, for unique and valuable works such as 'Vuon Xuan Trung Nam Bac' when conducting preservation and cleaning-up works, it’s necessary to have the participation of leading experts to closely supervise the works.Meanwhile, the treatment to the painting “Vuon Xuan Trung Nam Bac” followed the reverse procedures. Only when the public started to raise their voice, did the managing units start to respond. Therefore, not only the worker is directly responsible for cleaning the painting, but also the managers (leaders of Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports) are responsible for the work. “I think that it is necessary to have a specific discipline to raise the sense of responsibility, to avoid similar situations happening in the future, rather than just stopping at the level of lesson learnt," Nguyen Do Bao said./.

Nguyen Gia Tri graduated from the Hanoi College of Fine Arts in 1936. He was best known for his mastery of lacquer painting. The world in his paintings appears both real and unreal between layers of lacquer. The paintings typically glisten with a dazzling golden colour that creates a sense of balance, uniformity, rhythm and harmony, and highlights the outlines of human bodies and objects. Vuon Xuan Trung Nam Bac (Spring Garden of the Central, South and North Regions) was the final work of Nguyen Gia Tri, done over a period of 20 years between 1969 and 1989. At 540cm x 200cm, Vuon Xuan Trung Nam Bac is also the biggest lacquer painting ever done by a Vietnamese artist. In 1991, the painting was bought by the administration of Ho Chi Minh City for US$100,000 and handed over to the municipal Museum of Fine Arts in District 1 for display and preservation.