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 The Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts (; ) is located in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a museum showcasing Vietnam's fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, di ...

. He taught a resistance art class in the northern zone during the war with the French, and died as the result of injuries received at the

Battle of Điện Biên Phủ The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the forces of the French Union and Viet Minh. The French began an operation to in ...

. He was among the first recipients of the Ho Chi Minh Prize in 1996. He worked as painting teacher in Bưởi school, professor at 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 in Tonkin under French colonial rule in 1925. The university has trained many of Vietnam's leading artists and ...

and principal of the Việt Bắc Art School and has had significant influence on a whole generation of artists in Vietnam. Vân contributed to the magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn ("Self-Strengthening literary group") by drawing cartoons on current events, social issues, and everyday live. The

To Ngoc Van (crater) To Ngoc Van is a pit-floored crater on Mercury, named after the Vietnamese artist Tô Ngọc Vân. It was discovered in January 2008 during the first flyby of the planet by ''MESSENGER'' spacecraft. Its floor displays an irregularly shaped col ...

on Mercury was named in his honour.

Life and career

Ngọc Vân was born on December 15, 1906 (although some sources record his birth in 1908) in Xuan Cau village, Van Giang district,

Hung Yen Hung may refer to: People * Hung (surname), various Chinese surnames * Hùng king, a king of Vietnam People with the given name Hung include: * Hung Huynh (born 1978), Vietnamese-American chef, winner of the third season of the television show ' ...

province. Ngọc Vân was born as a poor boy and skipped school during his third year in high school to follow his dream of becoming an artist. In 1926, he was able to pass the entrance exam in the

Vietnam University of Fine Arts The Vietnam University of Fine Arts (formerly ''Hanoi College of Fine Arts'') is an art school in Hanoi, Vietnam originally established in Tonkin under French colonial rule in 1925. The university has trained many of Vietnam's leading artists and ...

during the first generation of the school and graduated two years later. Ngọc Vân painted many places in his artwork, some of which include

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

, and

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

. He was also a writer and art critic in the art press. He cooperated with the Vietnamese newspapers Phong Hóa và Ngày Nay and Thanh Nghị.

Typical works

Before 1945

* The Girl by the Lotus (1944) * Girl by the lily (1943) * Two Girls and a Baby (1944) * A young woman sitting by a picture of a tam da (1942) * Noon (1936) * Flower Side (1942) * All are oil paintings.

After 1945

* Ho Chi Minh worked in the North of Vietnam (1946-oil painting) * Overnight on the hill (lacquer - 1948) * The real buffalo (watercolor sketch - 1954) * Two soldiers (watercolor - 1949) * Resting on the Hill (1948) * And hundreds of resistance sketches.

Honor

* First prize at National Fine Arts Exhibition November 1954 in Hanoi * Class independent Medal * Second Class Resistance Medal * Medal for the cause of Vietnam Literature and Art * Medal for the cause of Vietnam Fine Arts * Letter of praise from Uncle Ho (1952) and the shirt Uncle Ho gave him (1954) He was posthumously awarded the first Ho Chi Minh Prize for literature and art (1996). His name is given to many streets in a number of cities and towns in Vietnam such as Hanoi capital, Ho Chi Minh city, Thu Duc, Da Nang, Hung Yen, Hai Duong, Yen Bai, Da Lat, Vung Ship ... and put for a crater on Mercury. In Hanoi, his name is given to the small street northeast of Ho Tay, Xuan Dieu street enters Quang Ba village, reaches the Quang Ba swimming pool junction, turns left to go to the gate of the hotel and public tourism company. Hanoi delegation 530m long

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:To, Ngoc Van 1900s births 1954 deaths 20th-century Vietnamese painters People from Hưng Yên province 20th-century male artists Male painters