The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, in conjunction with the French Institute in Hue, launched an art exhibition of King Ham Nghi's paintings on Monday, themed Sky, Mountains, and Water.
King Ham Nghi created these paintings during his exile in Algeria.
The exhibition is being held at Kien Trung Palace in the Imperial City of Hue (Photo by Vi Thao)
According to Hoang Viet Trung, Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, this marks the first-ever return of the artworks to their homeland, where they have been exhibited at Kien Trung Palace.
A group of art experts and Dr Amandine Dabat, a fifth-generation descendant of King Ham Nghi, jointly discovered, verified, appraised, and meticulously restored the pieces to international standards.
The exhibition will last until April 6 on the second floor of Kien Trung Palace, which was renovated last year with a total investment of VND123 billion (USD5.5 million).
On its opening day, the event drew many visitors.
One of the paintings featured at the exhibition (Photo by Vi Thao)
Franck Bolgiani, Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy in Vietnam, hailed the exhibition as a landmark in heritage conservation and a strong testament to the long-standing cultural co-operation between France and Vietnam.
Bolgiani noted that King Ham Nghi was among the earliest Vietnamese artists to undergo formal training in Western art. He created remarkably unique paintings.
King Ham Nghi, who was born in 1871 and died in 1944, was the eighth emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty.
