The Young Woman by the Lily (1943) : A Masterpiece from To Ngoc Van.

Figure 1: The Young Woman by the Lily by To Ngoc Van, 1943, oil painting

Women have always been an endless source of inspiration from artists and a familiar subject in art all over the world. For me, women not only represented beauty, appearance, color but also in the concept and the soul. One of the oil paintings I am most impressed by is The Young Woman by the Lily (1943) by To Ngoc Van. To Ngoc Van is considered to be the first contributor to the use and finishing of oil paints in Vietnam. The Young Woman by the Lily (1943) is one of his most well-known paintings and also the most typical representative of Vietnamese art in the early 20th century.

One of the reasons I love this painting is because it shows us the innovative beauty of Vietnamese women, breaking the prejudices of feudal society at that time. The painting does not refer to a specific character, it represents the gentle, humble beauty of Vietnamese girls. The painting illustrates a portrait of a young woman in a white Ao Dai naturally tilting her head toward a vase of white lilies. The girl's appearance, surrounding details, and colors are simple and gentle. If the image of the girl symbolizes the graceful beauty, full of vitality of youth, the image of lilies brings purity and virginity.

The masterpiece used green with different shades, pure white, and some pink green to create a tranquil atmosphere. The light coming from the left, spreading all over the face, from the ao dai to the hands and the flowers. The white of the lilies on the right made the painting balance with the glowing part on the left, which helps the overall look more consistent. Clearly, in the layout, the young woman is located in the spiral of the golden ratio, the body creates an arc-shape like embracing the flowers. The highlight of the painting is the women's face and the lilies in the middle of the painting. The painting is a close-up view, in which the main subject is very close to the viewer’s vision. It makes everyone only focus on the woman and the lilies.

Figure 2: The Young Woman by the Lily with the golden ratio, Nguyen Thanh Tung, screenshot by author, 2020

The painting has a deep message and value when we put it in the context when Vietnam was influenced by Western culture back in the 1940s. The image of the ao dai, a Vietnamese woman with a pure white tone as the main embellishing of Vietnamese human qualities, is an eloquent testament to love and national pride. Living in modern times, we can all learn about new cultures from different countries, but do not forget the traditional beauty and lose our own core values.

References

To, V 1943, The Young Woman by the Lily, oil painting, Wikipedia, viewed 10 January 2020, <https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thi%E1%BA%BFu_n%E1%BB%AF_b%C3%AAn_hoa_hu%E1%BB%87#/media/T%E1%BA%ADp_tin:To_Ngoc_Van_thieu_nu_ben_hoa_hue.jpg>.

Nguyen, T 2018, The Young Woman by the Lily with golden ratio, Thanh Tung Nguyen, viewed 12 January 2020, <http://hufa.hueuni.edu.vn/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/8-thieu-nu-ben-hoa-hue.pdf>.