{"id":681,"date":"2016-05-08T12:53:50","date_gmt":"2016-05-08T11:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/?page_id=681"},"modified":"2026-08-21T08:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T07:47:14","slug":"lacquer-paintings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/index.php\/en\/lacquer-paintings\/","title":{"rendered":"Lacquer paintings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soon after the Second World Conflict, while he was carrying on his art studies in Paris, NGUY\u1ec4N Sao met a small group of artists compatriots, one of them TRAN Minh Tho, having kept links with a lacquer workshop in Saigon, he could then start painting with natural Vietnamese lacquer.<\/p>\n<p>However, due to difficult and irregular deliveries of this precious material from Vi\u00eat Nam, he probably chose to limit the use of wooden panels &#8211; their preparation needing much material &#8211;\u00a0 and to keep genuine lacquer for the sole painting.<\/p>\n<p>The precise realizations made between 1948 and 1951 are not known for the time being. One example dated from that period, has recently been introduced to the public by the Auction House Aguttes. It is \u00ab\u00a0<em>Conversation in the underwood<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0, Paris, circa 1950, egg shells, pigments and lacquer on canvas, 73&#215;96.<\/p>\n<p>Back in Vi\u00eat Nam in 1952, NGUY\u1ec4N Sao resumed the traditional lacquer art, to reach between 1960-1971 the summit of his artistic creation as a <strong><em>Master in lacquer painting<\/em><\/strong>. <strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lacquer paintings on wooden panels were shown at three exhibitions by the end of 1962. Eleven lacquer paintings were exhibited in 1963. And in 1965, thirty lacquer paintings were shown at the <em>Alliance Fran\u00e7aise<\/em> <em>Exhibition<\/em>, representing two years of work and researches. On the eve of his return to France, he owns about fifty lacquer paintings on wooden panels.<\/p>\n<p>NGUY\u1ec4N Sao&rsquo;s lacquer paintings look very much like his paintings : he actually uses a very personal technique where tints are finely produced, even in the parts carved with egg shells. Thanks to the choice of shells, in burning and in crushing them to obtain a fine powder mixed with lacquer, he succeeds in obtaining a palette nearly as rich as the oil painting one.<\/p>\n<p>While placing bits of shells on lacquer,\u00a0 spreading over them one or two layers of transparent lacquer and stopping pouncing at the right moment, he realizes this very particular relief effect with an extraordinary display of colours.<\/p>\n<p>Great artworks were thus conceived according to this process and were acquired by art collectors. We may cite among others :\u00a0\u00a0 \u00ab\u00a0<em>Les trois Parques<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0, \u00ab\u00a0<em>La couronne d&rsquo;\u00e9pines du Christ<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0, \u00ab\u00a0<em>Le chemin de croix<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0, \u00ab\u00a0<em>Les baigneuses<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0&#8230;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_518\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-518\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/LesTroisParques_protegeNoir_bas-laque-rec.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-518\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-518\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/LesTroisParques_protegeNoir_bas-laque-rec-300x220.jpg\" alt=\"Les trois Parques, laque avec coquilles d\u2019\u0153uf (vers 1960)\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/LesTroisParques_protegeNoir_bas-laque-rec-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/LesTroisParques_protegeNoir_bas-laque-rec.jpg 759w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-518\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The three Parques, lacquer with egg shells (Saigon, circa 1962)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He also made many researches to mix lacquer with the so-called \u00ab\u00a0<em>immortal<\/em>\u00a0\u00bb colours, so as to obtain intermediary colours, more subtle and fresher tints than those of the traditional lacquer paintings. He thus created a rich variety of grey-pink, grey-blue and grey-green. With these mixtures and tones really new in this field, he gave to his panels of lacquer numerous colours of classic paintings.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_170\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-170\" style=\"width: 216px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/LafemmeAuxLotus_bas.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-170 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/LafemmeAuxLotus_bas-216x300.jpg\" alt=\"La Femme au lotus, laque avec feuilles d'or\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/LafemmeAuxLotus_bas-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/LafemmeAuxLotus_bas.jpg 607w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-170\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The lady with the lotus, lacquer with gold and silver sheets, part.coll. 81&#215;60 (Saigon, circa 1971)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_259\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-259\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/124_RondeJoyeuseAutourFlamboyant_protegeNoir_ti_max.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-259\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/124_RondeJoyeuseAutourFlamboyant_protegeNoir_ti_max-300x217.jpg\" alt=\"Ronde autour du flamboyant, laque (vers 1960)\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/124_RondeJoyeuseAutourFlamboyant_protegeNoir_ti_max-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/124_RondeJoyeuseAutourFlamboyant_protegeNoir_ti_max-1024x740.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/124_RondeJoyeuseAutourFlamboyant_protegeNoir_ti_max.jpg 1052w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-259\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dance around the poinciana tree, lacquer, 60&#215;80 (Saigon, circa 1965)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_644\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-644\" style=\"width: 325px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/136_QuatorzeStations_protegeNoir_max.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-644\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-644\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/136_QuatorzeStations_protegeNoir_max-300x183.jpg\" alt=\"Les quatorze stations, laque avec coquilles d\u2019\u0153uf (Sa\u00efgon, vers 1960)\" width=\"325\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/136_QuatorzeStations_protegeNoir_max-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/136_QuatorzeStations_protegeNoir_max-768x468.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/136_QuatorzeStations_protegeNoir_max-1024x624.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/136_QuatorzeStations_protegeNoir_max.jpg 1065w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 325px) 100vw, 325px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-644\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The stations of the Cross, lacquer with egg shells, part.coll., 50&#215;80 (Saigon, circa 1962)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_656\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-656\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/130_2DanseStFlour_protegeNoir_titre_max-rec.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-656\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-656\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/130_2DanseStFlour_protegeNoir_titre_max-rec-300x231.jpg\" alt=\"Danse \u00e0 Saint-Flour, laque (vers 1962)\" width=\"300\" height=\"231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/130_2DanseStFlour_protegeNoir_titre_max-rec-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/130_2DanseStFlour_protegeNoir_titre_max-rec-768x592.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/130_2DanseStFlour_protegeNoir_titre_max-rec.jpg 943w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-656\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dance in front of Saint-Flour, lacquer, 50&#215;60 (Saigon, circa 1967)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1212\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1212\" style=\"width: 338px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-1212\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/123_LesRochersDeHaTien_protegeNoir_zoom_bas-300x195.jpg\" alt=\"Les rochers de Ha-Tien, laque 60x90 (Saigon, vers 1965)\" width=\"338\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/123_LesRochersDeHaTien_protegeNoir_zoom_bas-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/123_LesRochersDeHaTien_protegeNoir_zoom_bas-768x499.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/123_LesRochersDeHaTien_protegeNoir_zoom_bas-1024x665.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/123_LesRochersDeHaTien_protegeNoir_zoom_bas.jpg 1063w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ha-Tien rocks, lacquer 60&#215;90 (Saigon, circa 1965)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soon after the Second World Conflict, while he was carrying on his art studies in Paris, NGUY\u1ec4N Sao met a small group of artists compatriots, one of them TRAN Minh Tho, having kept links with a lacquer workshop in Saigon, he could then start painting with natural Vietnamese lacquer. However, due to difficult and irregular &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/index.php\/en\/lacquer-paintings\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continuer la lecture de <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Lacquer paintings<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width-page.php","meta":{"iawp_total_views":62,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-681","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lacquer paintings - Nguyen Sao<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nguyensao.fr\/index.php\/en\/lacquer-paintings\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lacquer paintings - Nguyen Sao\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Soon after the Second World Conflict, while he was carrying on his art studies in Paris, NGUY\u1ec4N Sao met a small group of artists compatriots, one of them TRAN Minh Tho, having kept links with a lacquer workshop in Saigon, he could then start painting with natural Vietnamese lacquer. 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