Asian Landscape Painting:

Mountains & Rivers of the

Southern Country

People
Việtnamese Fashion
Nón lá
 The nón lá or “leaf hat” is a conical hat that is a
traditional symbol of Việtnamese people without
discrimination to age, gender or racial
distinctions.

The nón lá comes from a legend relating to rice

growing. The story is about a giant woman from
the sky who has protected humankind from a
deluge of rain. She wore a hat made of four
round shaped leaves to guard against all the
rain.
The nón lá has been
strongly associated
with rural life in the
paddy field to boat
men and women.

It can be used as
protection from the
sun, protection from
rain and can be even
used as a basket to
hold things.
 The nón bài thơ or
“poem hat” from Huế
has lyrical lines of
verse or other designs
under the leaf layer
which can only be seen
when held up to light.
Áo Dài
 The áo dài
translates as
“long” (dài)
“shirt” (áo) and
today it is a tight
fitting tunic worn
over trousers.
Chinese Ming style clothing were forced on
Vietnamese people by the Nguyễn dynasty
and the tunics and trousers of the Han
Chinese on the Ming and Qing tradition were
worn by the Việtnamese people.

In 1744, Lord Phúc Khoát of Huế

decreed that both men and women at his
court wear trousers and a gown with
buttons down the front
(áo ngũ thân). This was used to distinguish
his people from the “northern people”.
In 1930 Hà Nội artist Cát Tưòng
(Le Mur) designed a dress inspired
by the áo ngũ thân and by Paris
fashions. It reached to the floor and
fit to the curves of the body by using
a nipped in waist.

This became known as the “áo dài

Le Mur”. He proposed the motto

“Clothing is used to cover the body,

but it is the mirror that reflects the
status, the intellectual of a country”.
 The áo dài Le Mur created a
sensation when the model
Nguyễn Thị Hậu wore it for
the newspaper Today in 1935
and its style was promoted
as a national costume for the
modern era.
Trần Lệ Xuân or Madame Nhu was the First
Lady of South Việt Nam from 1955 – 1963
and popularised a collarless version in 1958.
The áo dài became popular from 1960 -1975.

It became known as the “áo dài bá Nhu”.

 The áo dài became more common
in the south than the north, seen by
many in Hà Nội as associated with
the decadent south and of Sài Gòn
of the 1960s and early 1970s.

Việt Cộng negotiator, Nguyễn

Thị Bình at the Paris Peace
Conference (1973) wore an áo dài
which was highly praised as a
national dress.
The áo dài is no longer deemed politically controversial and
is used now as the national costume of Việt Nam.
It is often called áo dài Việt Nam to link it with patriotic
feelings.

It is the standard dress for weddings, for Tết and other

formal occasions, a school uniform for female students and
teachers and for companies in the banking sector, hotels and
reception staff and flight attendants.

It is often worn with nón là or leaf hat.

 White áo dài is
traditionally worn by
young women, a
symbol of pureness
and youth.
The purple áo dài is
traditionally
associated with
Huế and the royal
capital.
The red áo dài is traditionally
used for weddings.

Red is an auspicious colour.

The áo dài is worn by female flight attendants from Vietnam
Airlines.
The Việtnamese film “Áo
lụa Hà Đông” (Eng: The
White Silk Dress) (2006)
is a film that emphasises
the importance of the
white silk dress (áo dài)
and of the strength and
heart of Việtnamese
women.
Áo bà ba
Art
Việtnamese Oil Painting
 Tô Ngọc Vân (1906- 1954)

He studied at the Hà Nội School of Fine Arts during the

first generation of the school and graduated there.

He worked as a professor at the school of Fine Arts and a

principal of the Việt Bắc Art School and has had a
significant impact on a whole generation of artists.

He taught a resistance art class in the northern zone

during the First Indochina War.
Woman by a
Lily
 Nguyễn Thanh Bình (1954- )

He studied at the Hanoi School of Fine Arts and then at

Gia Dinh National College of Fine Arts in HCMC.

He has been influenced by Chinese paintings where

space is an integral part of the composition.

He painted mostly minimalist figures with a shimmering

essence of colour to give a sense of movement and
elegance.
Nguyễn Thanh Bình
(1954- )

He mostly painted
ballerina dancers,
nudes, musicians and
schoolgirls wearing the
áo dài and nón lá.
Schoolgirls in
Turquoise
Schoolgirls in
Turquoise
The Lotus
Schoolgirls
Schoolgirls
Schoolgirls
Schoolgirls
Schoolgirls
Schoolgirls in
Purple
Young Girls
in Blue
Young Girls in
Pink
Young Florists
Young Girls in
Red
Young Girls in
Blue
School Girls
School Girls
School Girls
School Girls in
Yellow
School Girls
in Blue
School Girls in
with Lotus
Young Girls in
Red
 To Ngoc (1952- )

He was born and grew up with land and water in Ninh

Binh. He painted nature, ordinary peasants in the rice
fields, gathering the harvest or in coracles. He painted
fields in an abstract and minimalist way.

The colours are bright and full of energy.

Harvest
Season
Harvest on the Rice Field
A Good Crop
A Good Crop
View of Rice
Field
Harvest
Season
Lotus on the Rice Field
Paddy Field
On the Paddy Field
On the Paddy Field
Early Morning
in the Rice
Field
Golden Sun on the Rice Field