The fierce competition among painting copyists has made the price for masterpieces by Van Gogh, Picasso, Tran Van Can, etc. to be dirt-cheap. However, their quality is similar.

“Em Thuy” by Tran Van Can.

The need for paintings to decorate houses, offices, hotels, restaurants, etc. has soared recently, promoting the mushrooming growth of galleries that sell copied paintings in Hanoi.

Visiting galleries in Hanoi like Apricot, Green Palm, Hanoi Studio, Thanh Binh, Ngan Pho and others; one can easily buy a copy of paintings by famous Vietnamese and foreign artists, such as Tran Van Can, Bui Xuan Phai, To Ngoc Van, Thanh Chuong, Dao Hai Phong, Van Gogh, Picasso, etc.

Those who buy copied paintings are not art fans who deeply understand painting art. They just buy paintings as gifts or to decorate their houses, offices or restaurants; so, they are only interested in the price, not painting quality. As a result, galleries compete to lower the price for copied paintings.

However, galleries cannot compete with craft villages that earn their living from copying paintings.

Phu Xuyen village in Hanoi is a popular name for copying paintings. There are dozens of painting copyists in the village and they are willing to sell copied paintings at dirt-cheap prices, which are equivalent to one half or one third of the prices offered by galleries. The average price is VND1 million ($50) for a painting.

“I have to travel a little far but the price is very cheap and the service is very good,” said Ms. Nhung from Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, who bought a copy of “Em Thuy”, a famous painting by Tran Van Can.

In this situation, painting copyists in Hanoi are paid VND2.5-VND3.5 million ($125 – $170) a month.

Lam, a painting copyist for TB Gallery in Hang Gai street, Hanoi, said: “With that wage, our enthusiasm for art is swept away. Without feeling, a painter can copy 3-4 paintings a day”.

In a chaotic painting market, where faked paintings are more favored than real ones, artworks by serious artists are devalued. Some galleries pay only VND2-5 million ($100-250) for authentic paintings and then they list prices at $1,000-2,000 at their galleries.

Painter Ngoc Trung, who often consigns his artworks at galleries, said: “Investment in paintings is costly. Made-in-china colors are priced VND100,000 ($5)/tube while German colors are priced around VND200,000 ($10)/tube. To draw a painting, I have to use from 12-18 colors. I also have to pay VND80,000 ($4) for a meter of Taiwanese painting cloth.”

“That’s material investment, not to mention my creativeness. I earn a little after deducting input cost and commissions for galleries,” he said.

Linh Nhi