The heritage of Hue: inspiration for sketchers

Daughter and her mother are sketching The Nine Dynasty Urns

Attraction

In early March, about 90 members of the Hanoi Urban Sketching Group eagerly traveled to Hue to participate in the project “Sketching Hue Ancient Imperial Capital Heritage 2022" together with many artists in Hue. During the period of five days, they went sketching many places such as Uncle Ho's memorial house in Duong No Village, the Imperial Citadel, Khai Dinh and Tu Duc mausoleums, Vong Canh hill, Bao Quoc, Tu Hieu, Dieu De pagodas, the Phuoc Tich ancient village, Hue Singing on the river, etc.

The image of nearly 100 artists of various ages passionately sketching the heritage of Hue added to the beauty of the city. Over 300 paintings had been born depicting the beauty of the tangible and intangible heritage with the citadel, palaces, ancient pagodas, the royal fine art, the folk architecture, garden houses, etc., by the art of sketching

Many lively drawings were more than recording the monuments. Each picture was a beautiful memory of the Ancient Imperial Capital City.

Though it was her third time, the heritage of Hue still attracted Tran Thanh Thuy

Though it was her third time, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, architect and lecturer at Ha Noi University of Architecture, head of the Ha Noi group, still felt eager just like the previous ones.

According to Thuy, Hue Ancient Imperial Capital City is the invaluable treasure of the country with its unique palaces, royal mausoleums, temples, pagodas, garden houses, royal treasure, festivals, cuisine, etc. They are an endless source of inspiration for creativity which attracts many art lovers such as the group of sketchers from Hanoi.

“The journey to Hue is like a journey to happiness. Arriving here, we have a better understanding of Hue and our love for Hue is therefore growing. We want to preserve the beauty of the heritage, the architecture, the culture, and the people here, which help in conserving and spreading that beauty through sketching,” said Thuy.

Sketching Thien Tho Palace with parents

“Sketching Hue Ancient Imperial Capital Heritage” has been organized since 2020 up till now. Some people are worried about the possible boredom of repetition. But the increasing number of participants and pictures prove the attraction of the heritage of Hue to artists.

According to Mrs. Dinh Thi Hoai Trai, head of Hue Museum of Fine Arts, the subject for each time was different. Two years ago, if sketchers focused on the structures of Imperial Citadel and the royal mausoleums, this year, they focused on drawing decorative patterns on the constructions of the Nguyen dynasty, popular art of the communal houses, pagodas, and garden houses. Besides painting, people also composed poetry about the heritage. What inspired the sketchers was the variety of subjects.

Preserving and promoting the beauty of the heritage

“Sketching Hue Ancient Imperial Capital Heritage” is a journey aiming at contributing to preserving, honoring, and promoting the value of the heritage of Hue in general and Hue art in particular to people in and out of the country through sketching, painting and poetry about the tangible and intangible heritage with the participation of numerous architects, painters, poets and sketchers.”

According to Mrs. Dinh Thi Hoai Trai, with a great love for the cultural heritage of Hue as well as the passion for sketching, artists always participate in the project with enthusiasm. Besides the attraction of the heritage, Hue cuisine and Hue people also impressed them, especially those from Ha Noi.

That was why as soon as the project ended, they expected the next one next year.