The two paintings “Mother and Child” by Le Thi Kim Bach and “Rice Wine” by Ka Kha Sam had become cracked and peeling from the weather. Because they created using different techniques, different methods and materials were used to restore them.

Oil on canvas painting "Mother and child"

Workshops involving Vietnamese and German experts were held to discuss ways to restore these two paintings and others, part of a collaboration between the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and Germany’s Dresden Fine Arts University. Tran Dung Tien, Director of the Center for Restoration and Preservation of Art Works of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, says the number of restored works remains modest and is dependent on support from foreign experts: “Without these workshops and support from experts, we would have insufficient experience. We also lack materials and tools to restore the paintings. Through these workshops, we have learned advanced techniques and have been provided with professional tools for the restoration work”.

The number of pictures that need to be restored is large. Marina Langner, an expert in painting restoration at Dresden Fine Arts University, said restoration must be followed up with preservation. A restoration center with stable temperature and humidity is needed to prevent restored pictures from being ruined again. Ms Marina said:“Financial investment is not difficult. When studying in Germany, Vietnamese colleagues said that in addition to learning German techniques, they need a very good microscope to assist the restoration work, which cannot be found in Vietnam. We can buy them because they are not really costly”.

It’s a major challenge for Vietnamese experts to restore ruined paintings. Phan Thanh Binh, Rector of Hue Fine Arts University, said he wanted to develop the painting restoration sector in Vietnam: “The more we research, the more difficult and challenging restoration work we find. In Vietnam, restoration work is very important for the preservation of cultural and particularly fine art heritages. Hue is a center of UNESCO-recognized cultural heritages. So we really want to develop the restoration sector in Vietnam”.

By restoring the two paintings at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, Vietnamese experts gained experience and learned advanced methods for restoring pictures. This successful restoration paved the way for developing the Museum’s Center for Preservation and Restoration of Art Works into a National Center.