First Dong Ho folk painting centre inaugurated
The first ever centre for preservation and introduction of Dong Ho folk paintings was inaugurated on July 25 in northern Bac Ninh province.
Artisan Nguyen Dang Che is the owner of the building.
Three traditionally designed houses on an area of 5,500 sq m, the venue for the display and preservation of Dong Ho folk paintings have been completed after nearly one year of construction.
One house is a place for showing performance of making Dong Ho paintings. The other serves as a showroom of Dong Ho paintings. This is also a guest reception room.
The last serves as a museum where keeps ancient wood-blocks and ancient Dong Ho paintings are kept.
Artisan Che now has nearly 100 ancient wood-blocks between 50-100 years old. One of the blocks is nearly 400 years old, and has been handed down through nine generations. He started the collection since 1991. Apart from showing guests with ancient paintings, he also introduces thousands of new paintings in various sizes.
Guests coming to the centre will also have a chance to witness how the traditional paintings are made. Artisan Che held that only to know the method of making a painting, one can feel all the beauty of the painting.
According to Nguyen Dang Che, this is only the first phase of the project on prervation and development of Dong Ho paintings. His family has spend VND 2.5 billion for the construction and VND 1 billion for facilities. “When we have VND 10 billion, we will build a complex of preservation, production venues, showrooms and ecological tourism area,” said Che.
According to what artisan said, it’s hoped to have a living museum on Dong Ho paintings in the area.
|
Dong Ho painting paper is handmade from the bark of a tree called do which is normally grown in Tuyen Quang Province, according to artisan Che.
The bark of the do is stored in the water for months, then strengthened with a mix of sea shells and sticky rice.
The paint is applied to the woodblock and pressed on a paper like a stamp. The process is repeated with different colours to complete a painting.
Dong Ho paintings used to be a must in every Vietnamese household for Tet, Lunar New Year. Classic Dong Ho paintings use natural materials as colours. The colours of the painting are refined from various kinds of materials which are easily found in Vietnam.
The red colour is taken from red gravel in Thien Thai Mountain and the black colour comes from the coal of burned straw.
Another characteristic of Dong Ho paintings is the durability of colours. |
Comments