LookAtVietnam – The book entitled Nude Paintings and Statues introduces 156 artworks by 52 artists and this is one of the first books about nude arts published in Vietnam.

A nude painting by Pham Ngoc Thanh.

The first nude painting book, Xuan Thi or Spring Time, by photographer Thai Phien, was released back in December 2007. Now the first book about nude paintings and statues has been published by the Culture and Information Publishing House.

Painter Ngo Thanh Nhan spoke at the introduction ceremony on January 22 that he and his colleagues experienced great difficulties, from collecting the artworks to asking for permission and organizing an exhibition.

“This is a sensitive and unpopular topic in Vietnam so when I raised this idea, all artists said it is impossible to publish this book,” revealed Nhan. “A female artist withdrew from this project in the last minute because she was not sure whether she should note the work as “self-nude portrait” or not.”

When the book was published, organizers had to carefully consider the place to display this book.

“Initially we planned to display this book at Vietnam Book Corporation bookstores, the exclusive distributor of the book, but there is a space for children’s books so we decided to choose another place,” Nhan explained.

Critic Le Quoc Bao maintained that the issuance of this book is a new step in the dialogue between Vietnamese art, the public and the world arts. Painter Trinh Yen proposed that only opening the door to nude art can combat the sexually perverse images that are rampant on the Internet.

Some nude paintings in the book:

Young girl by Pham Duc Phong.

Nude by Bang Lam.

A painting by Le Anh Van.

Nude by Nguyen Van Chung.

A painting by Do Huu Hue city.

Fragrant flower by Ngo Thanh Nhan.

Green girl by Nguyen Xuan Tien.

18-year-old girl by Le Dinh Quy.

VietNamNet/VNE