As Vatican City has its ceiling muralin the Sistine Chapel, Hue City hasCuu Long An Van, a mural on the ceiling of Dieu De Pagodas hall.
Perhaps the Vietnamese masterpiece mural, called in English ‘Nine Dragons Rollick in Clouds’, could not be as magnificent as the mural in Sistine, but it is obvious to some that the painter Phan Van Tanh was at the same talent level as Michelangalo.
Michelangalo lay with his face to the ceiling to paint the Sistine. Tanh did the same, but he held brushes with his feet to complete several sections of the mural.
Included in the royal record is an account that during a visit by Khai Dinh, the second to last king of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) to the site, Tanh ignored the royal kowtow.
Tanh was the author of the country’s two oldest murals depicting a similar topic, one on the Dieu De Pagoda’s hall ceiling and another on the ceiling of Khai Dinh Mausoleum.
At the time when the king paid his royal visit, Tanh was lying on the scaffolding to paint Buu Hoa Long Van in Khai Dinh Mausoleum. He explained to the king that his ignorance of royal courtesy rules was due to his neglected costume at a construction site as well as his devotion to a royal art work .
The king also considered the artist’s use of his feet to hold a brush during his painting process as disrespectful to the royal work. Tanh replied that the mural was on the ceiling and the painter ought to keep himself far enough to view details of the mural as an audience would. The use of foot was a must, according to Tanh.
This story is from the October - November 2018 edition of Vietnam Heritage.
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This story is from the October - November 2018 edition of Vietnam Heritage.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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