PART 2

- HISTORY OF
VIETNAMESE ARTS
 HISTORY OF
VIETNAMESE ARTS

CONTENTS
I. The Vietnamese arts in the prehistoric and nation
building periods
II. Arts in the feudal period of national independence
III. The Vietnamese arts from 1885 to 1945
IV. The Vietnamese arts from 1945 to the present
V. Typical works of Vietnam’s Modern Arts
VI. The Vietnamese folk paintings
I. The Vietnamese arts in the prehistoric and
nation building periods
1. In the prehistoric periods
1.1. FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE PREHISTORIC PERIODS

The Stone Age in Vietnam developed

through three stages:
- The Old Stone Age
- The Middle Stone Age
- The New Stone Age
 1.1. FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE PREHISTORIC PERIODS
1.1.1. THE OLD STONE AGE

1.1. The early period

- Age: 200 - 300 thousand years ago
- Location(s): Núi Đọ (Thiệu Hoá, Thanh
Hóa) - the residence of the ancient
Vietnamese people
- Relics:
+ Roughly processed stone tools: chopping
tools, hand axes, scrapers, etc.
- Life: Lived in flocks in caves
Lived on hunting and collecting foods
with rudimentary stone tools
Hand axes at Núi Đọ, Thanh Hoáa
 1.1. FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE PREHISTORIC PERIODS
1.1.1. THE OLD STONE AGE

1.2. The late period (Sơn Vi Culture):

- Age: about 10,000 - 18,000 years ago Tribal
relic is known as Sơn Vi culture (Sơn Vi
commune, Sông Thao district, Phú Thọ).
- Residence:
+ The North: from Phú Thọ, Sơn La, Lai Châu to
Bắc Ninh.
+ The Central regions: from Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An
to Quảng Trị.
- Life:
+ Lived in clans and tribes of several generations
with the same bloodline
+ Used carefully-carved pebbles as working tools
Sơn Vi Cultural Artifacts
 1.1. FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE PREHISTORIC PERIODS
1.1.2 THE MIDDLE STONE AGE (Hòa Bình Culture)

- Age: 15,000 - 2,000 BC

- Locations: Sơn La, Lai Châu, Hòa Bình, Thanh Hóa, Nghệ Tĩnh, Thừa
Thiên Huế, etc.
- Life:
- + Knew how to do agriculture
- + Knew to make tents, or houses near caves, rivers and streams
- + Perhaps began to hold the fundamental religious beliefs: Totem worship (A
sacred object like animals, plants, or symbols)
1.1. FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE PREHISTORIC PERIODS
1.1.2 THE MIDDLE STONE AGE (Hòa Bình Culture)

Hoa Binh Cultural Artifacts

 1.1. FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE PREHISTORIC PERIODS
1.1.3. THE NEW STONE AGE

- Relics:
+ Hewing tools: still available but with the
popularity of blade sharpening techniques,
creating sharpened axes with handles =>
increase labor productivity
+ Tools and weapons: made of bamboo, bone,
horn, etc.
+ Pottery: introduced in many basic shapes with
diverse patterns
+ Jewelry: made of various materials: stone,
snail shell, terracotta, mussel shell, etc. with
many types: bracelets, necklaces, earrings, etc.
Bắc Sơn Axes
 1.1. FEATURES OF THE VIETNAMESE PREHISTORIC PERIODS
1.1.3. THE NEW STONE AGE

+ Skulls and other bones, labor tools, red tools in ancient coffins => The concept
of the afterlife world, in which people still live and work as they were alive
1.2. THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF THE
PREHISTORIC ARTS
 1.2.1. THE ARTS OF THE MIDDLE STONE AGE
(about 1000 years ago)

+ Only some early artistic signs, such as

simple carvings with primitive contents and
shapes, were found in Hòa Bình cultural
relics
+ During this period, people still lived in caves,
so the art of Hòa Bình culture was also cave
art.
+ In Lạm Gan cave (Hòa Bình), archaeologists
found an awl made of animal bones, carved
Production tools of Hoa Binh Culture residents
with six leaves on the top.
1.2.1. THE ARTS OF THE MIDDLE STONE AGE
(about 1000 years ago)

In Đồng Nội cave (Đồng Tam

commune, Lạc Thủy district, Hòa
Bình) there are four carvings
(three human faces and one
animal face) on the cave-wall with
large and deep strokes .

Carved on the wall of Đồng Nội cave (Lạc Thụy, Hòa Bình).
 1.2.2. THE ARTS OF THE NEW STONE AGE
(about 5.000 years ago)

The arts of the new stone age (including the cultures of Bắc Sơn, Quỳnh Lưu, Bàu Tró, Hạ Long)
developed in many different places, from the mountainous regions, coastal areas to the plains.
1.2.2. THE ARTS OF THE NEW STONE AGE
(about 5.000 years ago)

Pottery
+ Pottery appeared and strived with a
variety of styles and patterns.
+ People did not know how to use the
turning table. They knitted the molds of
bamboo.
1.2.2. THE ARTS OF THE NEW STONE AGE
(about 5.000 years ago)
Pottery

Relics involved:
+ some pottery in Minh Cầm and Bàu Tró, decorated with red lines, 10-
20 centimeter wide, or parallel lines,
+ Red-dyed axes, and seashells, buried with the dead

=> Vietnamese people knew how to use colors

1.2.2. THE ARTS OF THE NEW
STONE AGE
(about 5.000 years ago)

+Reliefs appeared a lot. An typical example

is the carves on a 10cm-long pebble in
Đông Ky cave, Thái Nguyên.
+The cave paintings had not yet been found.

The pebble carved with human

faces (Naka, Thái Nguyên).
 1.3. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PREHISTORIC
VIETNAMESE ARTS

Art forms:
+ Main carving materials: stone, clay,
animal bones
+ Paintings and statues: not yet appeared
+ At the end of the Stone Age, the arts of
making and decorating pottery:
developed with simple patterns but rich
in genres

● A clay carving (10x4x0.7cm) found in Nghinh Tắc

(Thái Nguyên)
1.3. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PREHISTORIC
VIETNAMESE ARTS
Subjects and contents:
The carvings mainly showed the
sketches of human portraits or animal
heads.
Some of the works are decorative
and symbolic, such as trees, leaves, and
nature.
Decorative motifs are diverse such
as: bamboo marks, fingerprints, water
waves, ropes, combs, diamond shapes,
asterisks, engraved lines.
 1.3. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
PREHISTORIC VIETNAMESE ARTS
Realization
+ The prehistoric artists showed the ability to observe and
demonstrate the features of the objects.
+ The works were relatively balanced in terms of proportions.
Some works showed the awareness of composition.
+ People began to know how to use colors to paint on or dye
pottery vases, shells, sacred objects for the deceased.
+ Decorative patterns showed the ability to generalize and
stylize the subjects.
 CONCLUSION

Prehistoric works of art were the first foundations for the later visual
arts activities, which continued to develop and achieve remarkable
success.
 2. In the nation
building periods
 In the nation building periods

This
Đâyislàthe period
thời of the
kỳ của nềnHong
văn River
minhcivilization,
sông Hồngalsohayknown
còn gọias là
thenền
Van
Lang
văn -minh
Au Lac civilization,
Văn Lang – Âu starting from
Lạc, bắt thetừ
đầu Bronze Ageđồ
thời đại to đồng
the Iron Age
thau
withsơ
đến thekìformation
đồ sắt vớiof sự
the hình
Van Lang
thànhkingdom
chả nhà(with 18 generations
nước Văn Lang (tồnof
King
tại 18 Hung) andHùng)
đời vua the AuvàLac kingdom
nhà nước Âu (headed
Lạc dobyAn
An Dương
Duong Vuong).
Vương
This period existed from the early 3rd century BC to 179 BC.
đứng đầu tồn tại từ khoảng đầu thế kỷ III TCN – năm 179 TCN.
2.1 THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL STAGES IN THE
NATION BUILDING PERIODS

+ The Phùng Nguyên culture (2.000 - 1.500 B.C)

+ The Đồng Đậu culture (1.500 - 1.000 B.C)
+ The Gò Mun culture (1.000 - 600 B.C)
+ The Đông Sơn culture (700 B.C - 100 A.C)
 a.THE PHÙNG NGUYÊN
CULTURE
(2.000 - 1.500 B.C)

The Phùng Nguyên culture was named

after the first archaeological site discovered
in Kinh Ke commune, Lâm Thao district, Phú
Thọ province in 1959. This is the first culture
of the Bronze Age in Vietnam. The
characteristics of the Phùng Nguyên culture
included stone artefacts, which are diverse in
types, such as tools, weapons and jewelry.
 a.THE PHÙNG NGUYÊN CULTURE
(2.000 - 1.500 B.C)

The pottery was made, using a wheel, and was decorated with engravings,
incised designs with the letter “S” pattern and soft bands of symmetrical triangles.
 a.THE PHÙNG NGUYÊN CULTURE
(2.000 - 1.500 B.C)

Lumps of brass
and patina were
also found at some
archaeological
sites.
 b. THE ĐỒNG ĐẬU
CULTURE
(1.500 - 1.000 B.C)

+ The Dong Dau culture was named after

the first archaeological site discovered
in Dong Dau village, Yen Lac town, Yen
Lac district, Vinh Phuc province in
1962.
 b. THE ĐỒNG ĐẬU CULTURE
(1.500 - 1.000 B.C)
Stone items

There were a number of stone jewelry such as: large bracelets, 4-knob earrings,
round beads, which were made very meticulously.
 b. THE ĐỒNG ĐẬU CULTURE
(1.500 - 1.000 B.C)

Bronze tools, such as

arrows, lance, carving knives,
hooks, needles and small
strings were discovered in
many sites, showing the
preference of the Đồng Đậu
people for bronze tools, which
allowed them to be more
productive.
b. THE ĐỒNG
ĐẬU CULTURE
- Stone items
(1.500 - 1.000 B.C).

Stone axes discovered at the archaeological site of Đồng Đậu in 1999

b. THE ĐỒNG ĐẬU CULTURE (1.500 - 1.000 B.C)
Pottery

The Pottery were heated with fire of over 800 degrees Celsius, so the pottery wall was
solid.
b. THE ĐỒNG ĐẬU CULTURE (1.500 - 1.000 B.C)
Pottery

The pottery was diverse in types: pots, jars, vases, bowls, etc.
b. THE ĐỒNG ĐẬU CULTURE (1.500 - 1.000 B.C)
Pottery

+ Popular patterns: waves,

measuring worms, ropes,
the letter S, spirals,
triangles, diamonds, folding
fans...

Decorative patterns on pottery

b. THE ĐỒNG ĐẬU CULTURE (1.500 - 1.000 B.C)
Pottery

Decorative patterns on pottery

 c. THE GÒ MUN
CULTURE
(1.000 - 600 B.C)

The Go Mun culture was named

after the first archaeological site was
discovered in Tu Xa commune, Phong
Chau, Phu Tho province in 1961.
 c. THE GÒ MUN CULTURE
(1.000 - 600 B.C)Bronze

Stone tool production decreased in quantity and quality while the production of
bronze tools increased. These bronze tools included hooks, arrows and lances, showing
that bronze tools gradually became more important in use.
c. THE GÒ MUN CULTURE (1.000 - 600 B.C)
Pottery

Chicken statue,
terracotta, Dong Dau
archaeological culture
(about 1500- 1000
B.C),

+ The statue of Roosters was found at the Vinh Quang site (Ha Tay)
c. THE GÒ MUN CULTURE (1.000 - 600 B.C)
Pottery

The Đồng Đậu culture’s pottery animal

statue.
c. THE GÒ MUN CULTURE
(1.000 - 600 B.C)
Bronze

The bronze statue of a man

sitting (Vinh Quang, Hà Tây)
with his head covered with a
scarf, and his hands around the
knees.
 c. THE GÒ MUN CULTURE (1.000 - 600 B.C)

Earrings shaped like a buffalo's head, Đình Tràng site, Đông Anh, Hanoi, height:
2.4cm, width: 2.7cm, nephrite jade stone (about 1100-700 BC).
d. THE ARTS OF
THE ĐÔNG SƠN
CULTURE
(700 B.C - 100 A.D)
 d. THE ARTS OF THE ĐÔNG SƠN CULTURE
(700 B.C - 100 A.D)

The sophisticated Bronze Age of the Đông

Sơn culture thrived in the Hồng (Red) River
delta from the 7 century B.C to the 1st century
A.D. The people of the Đông Sơn era were
also known as the Lạc Việt.
The arts of the Đông Sơn period was
discovered in Đông Sơn (Thanh Hóa) in 1924.
This culture spread throughout the
northern provinces of Vietnam, some central
and southern provinces of Vietnam and some
Asian countries.
d. THE ARTS OF THE
ĐÔNG SƠN CULTURE
(700 B.C - 100 A.D)

+ The Đông Sơn people survived by hunting,

fishing and growing rice. They were also
skilled metalworkers.

+ The Đông Sơn culture produced a wealth of

bronze items, including tools, vessels,
ornaments, weapons, arrowheads, axes, bells,
as well as ceramics and beads.
 The Đào Thịnh Jar - Bronze, Đông Sơn
culture, 3rd – 2nd century BC

Diameter of the upper face: 61cm. Diameter of

the base: 60cm. Height: 98cm.
Discovered in Đào Thịnh commune, Trấn Yên
district, Yên Bái province.
d. THE ARTS OF THE ĐÔNG SƠN
CULTURE
(700 B.C - 100 A.D)

Bronze axes - Dong Son Culture

d. THE ARTS OF THE DONG SON CULTURE
(700 B.C - 100 A.D)

Arts:
- Artifacts: There were many
decorative patterns on pottery, some
statues and decorative carvings on
bronze drums.
- Painting arts had not been found.
 2.2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARTS IN THE
NATION BUILDING PERIODS
Jewelry was crafted with different, high technology like sawing, grinding, drilling, punching. However,
due to the development of social life, bronze gradually replaced stone.

Lingling-o penannular earrings with three pointed

circumferential projections
2.2.1. Architecture

+ Under the reign of King Hùng, the Văn Lang kingdom experienced two basic types of
architecture: house architecture and rampart architecture.
2.2.1. Architecture

On Dong Son bronze drums,

artisans carved images of a stilt house
with a concave roof in the middle and
a stilt house with a round roof (turtle
shell).
2.2.1. Architecture

+ A picture of a stilt house on Đông Sơn bronze drums.

+ A wooden column, 4.50m long, with a chisel of 1.26m at the foot of the column,
found at some archaeological sites in Văn Đỉen, Đông Sơn also found
2.2.1. Architecture
- Architecture of the citadel

- There were no traces of

The Phong Chau citadel
of the Hùng Kings.
- Only the Cổ Loa citadel
(Đông Anh, Hanoi) built by
An Dương Vương has
remained.
2.2.1. Architecture
- Architecture of the citadel

In the history of the nation building, the

capital of the Van Lang kingdom was in Lam
Thao area (Bạch Hạc - Phú Thọ).
In 208 BC, the Âu Lạc kingdom was born.
Thục Phan called himself An Dương Vương
and decided to choose Cổ Loa (Đông Anh -
Hanoi) to build the capital of Âu Lạc.
2.2.1. Architecture
- Architecture of the citadel
+ Cổ Loa citadel was built with two
outer sets of ramparts and one citadel
inside, totally about 16 km long.
+ The outermost circle is about 8 km, the
second round is about 6.5 km, the
rectangular inner circle is about 1.6 km
in circumference. Outside the city is
surrounded by a deep and wide moat.

Cổ Loa citadel map, Đông Anh, Hà Nội

 2.2.2. Bronze Age Statues
The human stone statue (Văn Điển, Hanoi) - the
Phùng Nguyên culture period.

The male statue was 3.6cm high, balanced and harmonious.

2.2.2. Bronze Age Statues
- The Việt Khê bronze ladle, detected inside a Viêt Khê boat-shaped
casket (Hải Phòng)
2.2.2. Bronze Age Statues
- Human statues on a bronze dagger handle, the Đông Sơn Culture

+ Bronze daggers were very popular weapons in the Đông Sơn period.
 2.2.2. Bronze Age Statues

A bronze oil lamp from the

Dong Son culture (Lạch Trường,
Thanh hóa), height: 32cm.
 2.2.2. Bronze Age Statues

A statue of two men, with one

playing the pipe and sitting on the back
of the other. Height: 8,8cm.
 2.2.2. Bronze Age Statues

Đào Thịnh bronze jar

+ On the lid of the jar, there were 4 (or 5) statues of

couples, demonstrating the sex scene that
symbolizes fertility of life and the Yin and Yang
philosophy.
 2.2.2. Bronze Age Statues

+ Many statues, such as the rooster statue in Vinh Quang (Hà Tây), the toad
statue on the Dong Son bronze drums, the tiger statue, etc., were described in
great details while other statues just focused on the most noticeable features
of the subjects.
Costumes, jewelry
There were many types of bracelets, earrings,
necklaces, skirts, hats, scarves...
2.2.3. Decorative carving arts
- The Đông Sơn Drums
The Đông Sơn drums (also called Heger
Type I drums):
+ Are bronze drums fabricated in the

Dong Son culture,

+ Have been found in Viet Nam, southern

China, and throughout Southeast Asia

+ Were produced from about 600 BC or

earlier until the third century AD,

+ Are one of the culture's finest examples

of metalworking.
2.2.3. Decorative carving art
Đông Sơn Drums Đông Sơn Drums - H1
+ Is the oldest bronze drum, from the middle of the 1st
century BC - 3rd century AD.
+ Has a balanced shape, diameter: 79cm, height:
63cm.
+ Is divided into 3 distinct parts: Tang / Body / Drum.
+ Has decorative patterns covering the face and body
of the drum.
+ Had no toad statues in the early period, but in later
stages, usually had 4 statues
+ The 4 most beautiful drums: Ngọc Lũ, Hoàng Hạ,
Sông Đà (Vietnam) and Khải Hoá (China).

Ngoc Lu Drums
The decorative patterns on the Ngọc Lũ bronze drum (Hà Nam)

Craftsmen cast the drums in one piece using the lost-

wax technique.

The Dong Son drums were both musical instruments

and cult objects, decorated with geometric patterns,
scenes of daily life and war, animals, birds, and boats.
The decorative patterns on the Ngọc Lũ bronze drum (Hà Nam)

+ Comb-teeth motifs, concentric circles and birds around the drum.

The decorative patterns on the Ngọc Lũ bronze drum (Hà Nam)

The decorative images on the tympanum followed a common motif: at the center
was a star encircled by concentric panels of human or animal scenes interspersed
with bands of geometric patterns. Birds, deers, buffaloes and hornbills were
depicted.
 The decorative patterns on the Ngọc Lũ bronze drum (Hà Nam)

+ Humans and animals were depicted from a side view. But some details were depicted
in other directions, such as from the front view for the birds’ eyes, and from the top
view for the wings in accordance with a specific rule.
 The decorative patterns on the Ngọc Lũ bronze drum (Hà Nam)

+ Human figures, everyday life scenes,

agricultural scenes, rituals and warships
with feathered warriors were depicted.
The decorative patterns on the Ngọc Lũ bronze drum (Hà Nam)

The image of the house on a bronze drum.

The decorative patterns on the Ngọc Lũ bronze drum (Hà Nam)

+ In other drums, the position, the

number of patterns, or the styles
were a bit different but the
concepts of the universe in the
Oriental philosophy remained
unchanged.

The Hoàng Hạ drum

 The decorative patterns on bronze drums

The image of the largest boat was used by the ancient Vietnamese to go to the
sea or take the souls of the dead to the afterlife.
The decorative patterns on pottery

+The turntable was used to make

pottery. The Pottery was heated in a
specialized kiln.
+Pottery had a variety of designs and
types: pots, pots, bowls, jar, faucets,
cups, “dọi se chỉ”

The Phùng Nguyên Black

Pottery
Decorative patterns on pottery

The patterns on Phùng Nguyên pottery

 Decorative patterns

The ornamental patterns of the Bronze Age.

 CONCLUSION

1. The arts of sculpture and decorative patterns in the period of nation building
confirmed the existence and the initial development of the art form of the ancient
Vietnamese people with a strong indigenous identity, reflecting the customs and
habits of the Vietnamese people, such as labor work, entertainment, festivals,
beliefs, etc.

2. Some objects were both functional and decorative.

3. Although it was still in its infancy, the artworks of the nation building period
were still diverse at high technical and aesthetic levels.