Lacquer Painting ( Tố Nữ )

Vietnamese Lacquer Painting is a traditional wood decoration technique deeply rooted in the country’s cultural heritage, dating back hundreds of years and remaining highly esteemed to this day. This exquisite art form involves using the resin of the lacquer tree, combined with mineral pigments and other materials such as gold, silver foil, mother-of-pearl, and snail shell, to create a smooth, glossy finish on wooden surfaces.

Lacquer paintings are typically created on wooden panels (vóc), which are then coated with layer upon layer of lacquer to achieve a beautiful, lustrous effect. The lacquer technique demands exceptional skill and meticulousness from the artisans who practice it.

This particular artwork belongs to the “Tứ Bình” genre, a set of four paintings depicting four Vietnamese maidens in traditional attire. They are styled with the classic “đuôi gà” (hen’s tail) hairstyle and wear the “áo ngũ thân” (five-part tunic), each captured in a different pose while playing a traditional musical instrument: the “đàn nhị” (two-stringed fiddle), “tì bà” (pear-shaped lute), “đàn nguyệt” (moon lute), and “sáo” (bamboo flute). Each maiden possesses her own unique beauty and facial expression, reflecting the soul of young Vietnamese women of the past.

In Vietnamese folklore, there is a story called “Bích Câu kỳ ngộ” (The Strange Encounter at Bích Câu) that is related to the “Tố Nữ đồ” (Paintings of Elegant Ladies). The tale recounts the story of a scholar during the reign of King Lê Thánh Tông named Trần Tú Uyên. While visiting the Cầu Đông market, he became captivated by a painting of elegant ladies and purchased it, hanging it in his study. Every meal, he would set out two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks, inviting the ladies in the painting to dine with him, often conversing and treating them as real people. One day, Tú Uyên returned home from school to find a meal already prepared. The next day, he pretended to leave but secretly returned and hid. To his astonishment, he saw the elegant lady from the painting step out and become a real person…