VietNamNet Bridge – People from around the world should say “no” to war and shoulder responsibility for protecting world peace, said Pro. Dr. Truong Quoc Binh, Director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum at an exhibition entitled “Art in times of War” that opened in Hanoi on October 3.

On display are 45 etchings from the series “The Disasters of War” (1810-1820), by the famous Spanish artist, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes.

Goya was successful and innovative in depicting the causes, brutality and consequences of the Spanish War of Independence (1808-1814) against the French invasion by Napoleon.

Born in Fuendetodos, Spain in 1746 and died in Bordeaux, France in 1828, most of his paintings, drawings, and etchings reflected contemporary historical upheavals, which influenced important painters in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The Disasters of War, a series of starkly realistic etchings depicting the atrocities of war, were not published until 1863, long after Goya’s death.

Given the universality and timelessness of the series, the presentation of the etchings is expected to provide the Vietnamese, who have been so often affected by war, with a critical and moral message beyond their aesthetic value.

At the opening ceremony, US Ambassador to Vietnam, Michael Michalak, stressed that relations between Vietnam and the US were affected by the war in the past but they have become closer and stronger after the normalisation of diplomatic ties in 1995 and we are now looking forward together.

He also hailed Dr. Guggenheim’s deep generosity as a symbol of spiritual reconciliation between the two nations.

Along with Goya’s 45 etchings, 37 works featuring the Vietnam war by Vietnamese artists are also being showcased at the exhibition.

(Source: VOV)