Vietnamese and Dutch friends admire artworks displayed at an exhibition featuring the optimistic people and life of Việt Nam in Delden, the Netherlands. Photo baoquocte.vn

HÀ NỘI - Paintings featuring the optimistic people and life of Việt Nam during historical times are being exhibited at Museum No Hero in Delden, the Netherlands.

The displayed works of Vietnamese artists belong to a collection of Dutch entrepreneur Geert Steinmeijer who had been to Việt Nam many times during the years between 1990 and 2010.

The businessman had collected 35 paintings by many famous Vietnamese artists of the first and second generations after the August 1945 Revolution, including Trần Đình Thọ, Vũ Giáng Hương, Đỗ Xuân Doãn, Tô Ngọc Thanh, Huỳnh Phương Đông, Bùi Hữu Hùng, Đặng Xuân Hòa, and Nguyễn Trung.

With his strong passion for art, Steinmeijer opened a private museum with his own funds and with the motto of connecting artistic emotions. He regarded the museum as his own "child", according to the Thế Giới và Việt Nam (The World and Việt Nam Report) newspapers.

Many paintings have been showcased since 2020, but this is the first time he has exhibited the entire collection, mainly lacquer and silk paintings.

With the theme "Vietnam: The Dreamed Paradise" chosen by the collector, the exhibition aims to introduce an optimistic and poetic life in a heroic, optimistic, and hopeful history period of the Vietnamese people.

The exhibition, which remains open until April 2022, consists of three parts: “Vietnamese Identity”, “Vietnamese Women” and “Paradise on Earth”.

The first part consists of large-format lacquer paintings with colours of peaceful scenes such as villages, countryside markets, festivals, communal houses, áo tứ thân (four-flap dresses) and áo dài (traditional long dresses), green bamboo and palm trees.

The second part displays portraits of women from different angles of beauty from the royal to urban gentle appearances, poetic and dreaming to hardworking in the field.

And finally, the third part reflects the working and fighting life during wars of Vietnamese people including posters paintings and books on female housework published from years of war in Việt Nam.

On a ceremony held early this month to open the exhibition, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Phạm Việt Anh attended and cut the ribbon.

Viewers at the exhibition all felt the friendship, love and understanding of the businessman as well as Dutch friends for Việt Nam, and above all, the pride of Vietnamese people about Việt Nam -- their heroic land -- which just celebrated its 76th National Day (September 2), the Thế Giới và Việt Nam reported. VNS