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| Museum of Fine Arts’s director Nguyễn Minh Anh and former ambassador Nicolaos D. Kanellos at the ceremony. — Photo Minh Khánh |
Viet Nam News
HÀ NỘI — Former Greek ambassador to Việt Nam Nicolaos D. Kanellos presented his paintings to the Vietnamese Museum of Fine Arts.
Some 12 paintings were made by the then-ambassador Kanellos during his term in Việt Nam, during which he spent time getting to know the beauty of the country, its people and the typical national characters in its culture.
"I didn’t think I would become an ambassador one day. I don’t want to be a powerful ambassador but I want to be an ambassador for all people," said former ambassador Kanellos at the gift presentation ceremony held in Hà Nội on September 7.
"I love Picasso’s paintings, which are not only artwork, but also a tool for fighting. Like children’s awareness of this world, I want my paintings to express my true emotions. These paintings reflect the truthfulness and purity of my feelings."
The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, the Greek Embassy in Hà Nội and museum director Nguyễn Anh Minh.
"The paintings reflect the friendly relationship between Việt Nam and Greece," Nguyễn Phương Hòa, deputy-head of the ministry’s International Department, said, adding that culture, including painting, is the key to bringing peoples and nations closer.
Hòa also said the ambassador’s paintings have been a source of inspiration for Vietnamese designers’ fashion collections.
"The museum ensures that the paintings will be preserved so that they can be shown to Vietnamese and international visitors," director Minh added. — VNS
