Paintings by famous Dutch painter Van Gogh were transformed into photos by a Vietnamese student in the Netherlands, Ngo Xuan Phu, as part of his final thesis at the European Master of Art University.

Ngo Xuan Phu

The thesis was highly appreciated and will be archived at the university as the research documents for students of the subsequent courses.

What is the difference between photography and painting art?

The Netherlands and Vietnam are different from each other, both in geography and culture. But Phu found out similarities between the two countries after carefully researching Van Gogh’s works.

In the famous painter’s works, made in the 19^th century, there are farmers who are working on the field or women who are working with looms. These things have disappeared in Holland but they are available in Vietnam.

Phu is both a painter and a photographer so he understood the difference and the similarity between painting and photography. His set of photos has proved the close relationship between painting and photography.

If painting is the works of imagination of painters, photography records the fact. Phu decided to turn Van Gogh’s paintings into a set of photos about the Vietnamese rural area.

Initially, he planned to take photos in Holland by hiring overseas Vietnamese there. However, he failed because overseas Vietnamese didn’t have sunburned skin. He returned to Vietnam for a month to take the photos.

When he showed Vietnamese farmers Van Gogh’s paintings, they were very surprised because they could see their images in a strange country at a very old time.

When the photos were brought to Holland, many Dutch people uttered “the Vietnamese countryside is like Van Gogh’s paintings.” They could see their country from one century ago or their childhood in Phu’s photos.

Copy to archive for future

The set of photos has three parts, with 8-10 photos for each part. The first part comprises photos based on Van Gogh’s paintings, the second with portraits of farmers after factories, and the third of farmers during their free time.

Most of the audience like the first part but Phu said he added the second part to show the indispensable rules of development. Vietnamese farmers with manual production mode will gradually disappear to make room for more modern modes of production. The images of Vietnam today will gradually disappear like Holland did 125 years ago.

Phu was not afraid to be said that he copied the idea of Van Gogh because: “many artists share the same ideas but it is important how they show their ideas.”

VietNamNet/ANTD