Phan Kế An (20 March 1923 – 21 January 2018), also known under the pseudonym Phan Kích, was a Vietnamese painter and renowned

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...

artist. He was the son of Phan Kế Toại (1892–1973) who was the personal envoy to Tonkin of the last Emperor of Vietnam, Bảo Đại, the Minister of Home Affairs (1945-1955) and former deputy prime minister of North Vietnam from 1955-1973.

Early life and career

Phan Kế An studied at Bưởi school under famous teachers such as Lê Thị Lựu,

Tô Ngọc Vân Tô Ngọc Vân (蘇玉雲, 15 December 1906 or 1908 – 17 June 1954), also known as Tô Tử, was a Vietnamese painter. Several of his paintings are being displayed at the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts. He taught a resistance art clas ...

, and Nguyễn Tường Lân. He enrolled into the

École des Beaux Arts de l'Indochine The Vietnam University of Fine Arts (formerly ''Hanoi College of Fine Arts'') is an art school in Hanoi, Vietnam originally established under French colonial rule in 1925. The university has trained many of Vietnam’s leading artists and each year ...

in 1944, but then joined the Việt Minh guerrillas before graduating along with many other artists from his class. He was tasked with drawing anti-colonial caricatures on walls in French occupied territory. In 1947, at 24 years-old, he was asked by General Secretary, Trường Chinh, to join ''Sự Thật'' newspaper (the predecessor of '' Nhân Dân'' newspaper). In his role as commissioning editor, An drew political cartoons aimed at French, and later American, imperialism, as well as

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of ...

's Republic of Vietnam government. He continued painting throughout the Vietnam War to criticize the American bombing of Hanoi. In November 1948 he spent 3 weeks with Hồ Chí Minh and his advisers in the Việt Bắc, producing 20 portraits, which were later published in the ''Sự Thật'' (The Truth) newspaper. An used many improvised materials to create these sketches and portraits, including the burnt ends of cigarette butts. He used charcoal to sketch ''Hồ Chí Minh at Work in the Việt Bắc''. He was the first artist to depict Hồ Chí Minh during the First Indochina War. According to An, early works of communist leaders and soldiers were created to show support of the Việt Minh revolution, and risked severe punishment, even execution, if caught by French officials. In the winter of 1950, as a special envoy for the Việt Minh, his painting ''Remembering the Northwest/Remember One the Northwest'' (''Nhớ Một Chiều Tây Bắc''), quickly established him as a renowned lacquer artist. The image was later immortalized by poet Đoàn Việt Bắc in his poem of the same name and was later accompanied by music from the composer Vũ Thành. Phan Kế An's art works were part of the ''Realism in Asian Art'' exhibition co-organized by The National Art Gallery, Singapore and at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea in 2010. He died at the age of 94 on 21 January 2018 in Hanoi.

Collections

Phan Kế An's works are part of a number of Vietnamese and international collections: * Vietnam Fine Art Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam * Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts Museum,

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, Vietnam *

State Museum of Oriental Art The State Museum of Oriental Art (russian: Музей Востока) is one of the biggest cultural institutions in the world for preservation, research, and display of Oriental art. The museum was founded in 1918 as a part of soviet programme to ...

, Moscow, Russia
Witness Collection

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

, Malaysia

Official roles

During his career, An held a number of official positions: * Member of the Central Art Committee, 1951-1957 * Member of the

Vietnam Fine Arts Association Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, 1957 * Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, 1958-1978 * Member of Executive Committee of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, 1957-1983. * Member of the Executive Board, Member of the Professional Committee, Chairman of the Artistic Council of Graphic Design II Vietnam Association of Fine Arts, 1983-1989 * Member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association Examination Board III, 1989-1994

Notable works

* ''Trời giông trên thành Thanh Hoá'' (Thunderstorm Looms over Thanh Hoá Citadel). First prize in the first National Fine Art Exhibition in Hanoi in 1946 * '' Hồ Chí Minh at Work in the Việt Bắc'', 1948 * ''Nhớ Một Chiều Tây Bắc'' (Remembering the Northwest/Remember One the Northwest), 1950 *''Hanoi Christmas Bombing of 1972'', Hanoi, 1975-1985

Awards

* Third Class Independence Medal * Second-Class Resistance Medal * Anti-American Resistance Medal First Class * Arts Devotion medal * Medal for the cause of Vietnamese art * Medal for the People's cause * State Awards for Literature and Arts, 2001

References

External links

Vietnam Fine Art MuseumWitness CollectionVietnam: The Art of War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phan, Ke An Vietnamese painters 1923 births 2018 deaths People from Hà Tĩnh province