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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Year of the Star Horse
Nguyen Tu Nghiem (Vietnamese, 1922–2016)
Vietnamese
2002
Medium/Technique
Gouache on paper
Dimensions
Height x width: 54.2 x 78.6 cm (21 5/16 x 30 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Richard and Sally Leahy
Accession Number2011.321
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsPaintings
Nguyen Tu Nghiem is considered to have been one of the three great masters of Vietnamese modern art, known for bringing the traditional visual culture of Vietnam together with the aesthetics of western Modernism. Born in 1919, he witnessed the rise and fall of many anti-colonial movements and participated in teh 1945 and later uprisings that brought an end to French colonial rule in Vietnam. Despite the turmoil of this period, Nghiem managed to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts de l'Indochine and to promote his work through participation in exhibitions and publications dedicated to nationalist resistance.
Many of Nghiem's paintings incorporate stories, images and customs familiar from Vietnamese village life. Year of the Star Horse is one of many paintings he made relating to the Chinese-Vietnamese zodiac. It commemorates the year of its making, 2002, while also pointing back to 1942, another "Year of the Horse." The 60-year zodiac cycle links these two dates together, but the span between them also coincides with Nghiem's adult life, from his earliest artistic and political awakening to the moment of its production.
Many of Nghiem's paintings incorporate stories, images and customs familiar from Vietnamese village life. Year of the Star Horse is one of many paintings he made relating to the Chinese-Vietnamese zodiac. It commemorates the year of its making, 2002, while also pointing back to 1942, another "Year of the Horse." The 60-year zodiac cycle links these two dates together, but the span between them also coincides with Nghiem's adult life, from his earliest artistic and political awakening to the moment of its production.
Provenance2002, sold by the artist to Judith Hughes Day, New York; 2002, sold by Judith Hughes Day to Richard and Sally Leahy, Chestnut Hill, MA; 2011, gift of Richard and Sally Leahy to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 22, 2011)