Diệp Minh Châu

Diệp Minh Châu (10 February 1919 - 12 July 2002) was a Vietnamese painter and sculptor. He studied at the University of Hanoi. He was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for fine art in 1996.

Biography and Career Early life He was born in 1919 in Chieu Village, Nhon Thanh Commune, Giồng Trôm District, Bến Tre Province, which is now part of the city of Bến Tre, in a farming family. From an early age, he was passionate about drawing, becoming known for his artistic talent, and his friends nicknamed him "Chau 'the artist'".

In 1940, he passed the entrance exam to the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine (Indochina College of Fine Arts) with the highest marks. To pay for tuition, he continued to work part-time painting stage backdrops for theatrical troupes in Hanoi. In 1942, some of his paintings such as Autumn Moon, Longing, Fragrance and Colors attracted the attention of the artistic community. He won awards at the National Fine Arts Exhibition, including a bronze medal for his painting Van Mieu (1942) and a silver medal for his silk painting Prayer (1943). He participated in the patriotic student movement, advocating for the promotion of the Vietnamese national language and designed covers for patriotic songs by Lưu Hữu Phước, as well as creating set designs for performances of the Hanoi Student Union's drama troupe. By the end of 1946, he moved to Zone 8 and became a reporter. He traveled with the Viet Quoc Army through places such as Gò Công, Mỹ Tho, Bến Tre, Sa Đéc, and the Dong Thap Muoi region, capturing scenes of labor, production, and combat in works like Dong Thap Muoi Landscape, A People's Class in a Hut, Through the Forest of Leaves, Guerrillas Passing Through the Village, and Soldiers Parting the Grass... During this time, he gained recognition for the painting Soldier Le Hong Son Killed in Action While Charging (1947), created at Vam Nuoc Trong (Mo Cay) using the blood of the fallen soldier

In 1996, the government awarded him the Ho Chi Minh Prize in the first phase of the prize's establishment.

Works Bronze bust of Nguyễn Tuân named "Portrait of the writer Nguyễn Tuân" in Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts. It was made by Diệp Minh Châu in 1951. Dimensions: 30 × 45 × 55 cm. "Passing the mangrove forest” (Gouache, 1947) Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts

Comparison of the same statues made from different material: thumb1959 bronze statue The people of Phu Loi oppose the enemy.