Uncle Ho artwork finds home at museum

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Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi organised the celebration marking the arrival of the 1m x 0.8m painting made from small pieces of paper cut from colour magazines.

The painting depicts Ho Chi Minh as he is classically remembered: in his khaki shirt, showing his high forehead, bright eyes and thoughtful face.

Holding history: Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi organised a ceremony on October 31 to hand over to the museum the late President Ho Chi Minh’s portrait by Algerian-French artist Mustapha Boutadjine

“I was very honoured to bring this portrait from France to Vietnam. I hope that it will find its worthy place at the museum so that Vietnamese and foreign visitors can see the late President and feel the admiration and respect his foreign friends continue to feel for him”, said Nguyen Quynh Anh, the Trade counsellor of the Vietnam Embassy in France.

In mid october, Boutadjine unveiled the portrait to the Vietnam Embassy in France.

Speaking at the ceremony in Paris, he expressed his respect and admiration for the late president.

The artist said he also felt close to the Vietnamese people, as Algeria and Vietnam shared a common cause fighting against French colonialism in the 1950s.

For Boutadjine, President Ho Chi Minh is a leader not only of Vietnamese people but also of the liberation revolutions in many countries, including his own.

The painting is part of a collection depicting leaders of world revolutions.

In March this year, some mementos from Ho Chi Minh held by late French physics professor Pierre Biquard (also a French peace activist) and his family were given to the Ho Chi Minh Museum.