‘Dien Bien Phu’ – a massive painting of 132m wide and 9m high that took three years to be completed – has been approved by an art council.
Part of the painting (Photo: VNA)
Placed at the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum in the northern province of Dien Bien, the artwork, featuring 4,500 characters, is a panorama of the Dien Bien Phu battlefield at different times from late 1953 to May 7, 1954.
It depicts the entire army going to battle, the opening combat at Him Lam hill, the A1 hill battle, and the triumph.
The painting was done with about 30 painters drawing continuously and some occasionally. Most of the participating painters are young graduates from the Vietnam University of Fine Art.
Nguyen Van Mac, director of the cultural heritage preservation company and a manager of the art project, said it aims to convey an image of a people’s war.
Luong Xuan Doan, Chairman of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, said it is an epic by drawing, adding that the participation of young people makes the painting even more valuable.
The Dien Bien Phu Campaign lasted from March to May 1954 under the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap. Its victory on May 7, 1954 led to the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords in which France agreed to withdraw its forces from its colonies in Indochina.
