During the Mac Dynasty (16th century), folk painting developed quiteextensively and was popular among the aristocracy in Thang Long. In the18th and 19th centuries, the art of folk painting was stable and highlydeveloped.

Depending on artistic style,drawing-printing technique as well as the materials used, folk paintingare classified into painting trends according to the name of theirplace of production.

Ina folk painting, the deities are large and take the upper positions,the ordinary people are drawn on a smaller scale and the size of theanimals as well as the natural scenery are depicted depends on theirrelationship to the sentiment or expressed story. These uniquecharacteristics make the paintings profoundly impressive. With color asred as peony, as yellow as ripe paddy, as green as a young rice plant,the images have by themselves the taste of rural areas in all theircharacteristic rusticity. Besides, scallop shells give a typicallyVietnamese gleam and constitute a decorative element of printedpictures of a very simple treatment.

Dong Ho Paintings

DongHo folk painting is famous because Dong Ho is the only village wherepeople know how to make the painting with completely natural materials.The printing paper is made of the bark of a tree called "Do".The background paper is originally white; then, people use naturalmaterials to change the colors of the papers to orange, pink, yellow,purple, etc.

DongHo folk painting is known for the durability of their colors which arerefined from various kinds of tree leaves that people can easily findin Vietnam. Particularly, the red color is taken from the earth ofhills and mountains; black is from coal of burned bamboo leaves; theglittering white color is made of sea shells. After that, in order toprevent the painting from the daylight, the artist will cover it with alayer of sticky rice paste (called ho nep).

Paintingshere vary from decorative for Tet Holiday to pieces of worship. Dong Hopainting is considered a cultural symbol of Vietnam; it has beensustained for centuries. Scenes depicted in these paintings are usuallythose of ordinary life, landscapes, seasons of the year, symbols ofprosperity, etc. They also reflect people’s innermost feelings, wishesand simple dreams. Because their popular appearance, folk painting isavailable throughout Vietnam, from the village markets to the capitalcity.

TheVietnamese believe in ancestor worship and the deification of naturalphenomena, both of them are reflected in the paintings. Hang Trongpaintings are popular as worshiping paintings in temples. As such, thepaintings are often hung in spacious living rooms or in holy places.

HangTrong paintings are also printed with black lines to form the basis forthe color. However, unlike Dong Ho paintings, they are made by hand.Large sheets of imported paper and brightly colored paints are used forHang Trong paintings. The content of these paintings are significantlyinfluenced by Chinese drawings. Hang Trong paintings have traditionallyserved the poorer classes and are made and sold in the capital city.

Amongthe Vietnamese arts, folk painting is a long standing traditional one.It is highly appreciated by generations to the others and has become anindispensable moral alimentation. Dong Ho as well as Hang Trongpainting had set their place deeply in the soul of the people andremained their features unchangeable in spite of the upheavals of thetimes.