Exile art – the first exhibition on King Ham Nghi after more than 100 years

Miss Amandine Dabat, the fifth generation descendant of the king Ham Nghiexhibition organizer

With the theme “The Art of Exile – Ham Nghi, Prince of Annam (1871-1944)”, the exhibition, with about 150 paintings, photos and artifacts of King Ham Nghi, takes place at the Asian Art Museum in the city of Nice, southern France, to introduce to the public the historical pages in general and the art history in particular of a little-known Vietnamese king.

Coming to the exhibition, visitors can admire the drawings, oil paintings or watercolors that King Ham Nghi composed in the Impressionist style, sculptures made of bronze, wood, plaster, memorabilia, pictures of his life in exile, the shirt he used to wear and his passport, marriage certificate, as well as letters printed by the former emperors Khai Dinh and Bao Dai, and many documents Another thing that King Ham Nghi always kept with him during his lifetime…

The exhibition is the result of nearly 10 years of collecting, researching and searching for Ms. Amandine Dabat, the 5th generation descendant of King Ham Nghi.

Realizing that the historical documents, works and legacy left behind by the great-great-grandfather of 5 generations not only have historical significance but also artistic meaning, she did a doctoral thesis majoring in art history. about King Ham Nghi.

She is also the author of the book “Ham Nghi – Empereur en exil, artiste à Alger” (Ham Nghi – Emperor in exile, artist in Algeria), published in 2019 in France.

Amandine Dabat said, this is the first exhibition about King Ham Nghi since his death, organized in collaboration with the Asian Art Museum in Nice. The last exhibition he organized during his life took place in 1926, almost a century ago.

To get this event, she had to contact to borrow the collections and relics kept in the Guimet, Cernuschi and Rodin museums in Paris, as well as in the family of the descendants of King Ham Nghi and friends. his friends.

Ms. Dabat shared: “We would like to introduce to the public, including the French and Vietnamese, a fairly complete look at the life of King Ham Nghi, an exiled patriotic king, but with the soul of King Ham Nghi. an artist, a sculptor, a student of famous French artists like Auguste Rodin”.

A corner of the exhibition “The Art of Exile – Ham Nghi, Prince of Annam (1871-1944)”, in Nice

Impressed by Ms. Amandine Dabat’s doctoral thesis on King Ham Nghi, and also finding it appropriate to organize the exhibition, Mr. Adrien Bossard, curator of the Asian Art Museum in Nice, proposed to coordinate to organize the exhibition. event.

According to him, the exhibition not only gives the public a new and interesting view of Asia, but also has historical significance because the exhibits talk about a figure of royal lineage in Vietnam. related to the Indochina war and the French colonial period, which is still alive in the memory of many people.

Mr. Bossard affirmed: “It can be said that this is a quite successful exhibition. Since opening until now, within a month and a half, we have welcomed 8,000 visitors and ended the exhibition at the end of June. In 2022, we expect to welcome about 25,000 guests.”

Francoise Cole, a visitor, coming to this museum for the first time, expressed her “impression of the exhibition and valuable artifacts of a Vietnamese king as well as very unique paintings and sculptures”. of King Ham Nghi”.

And Ms. Véronique shared: “The exhibition gives me a multi-dimensional view of the character, not only his memorabilia, but also his paintings, which also show that he is a nature lover, a friendly person, not a man. I’m not a stranger, cold. That’s how I feel when viewing this exhibition.”

Some pictures of King Ham Nghi while living in Alger (Algerie).

King Ham Nghi (1871 – 1944), whose real name was Nguyen Phuc Ung Lich, was the 8th emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty but only reigned for 1 year (1884 – 1885).

After waving the flag of the Can Vuong uprising against the establishment of a French protectorate in Indochina, he was arrested and exiled by the French to the Algerian capital Algiers in 1888. At that time, he was only 18 years old.

During his exile, King Ham Nghi found solace and freedom for himself in literature, photography and especially in painting and sculpture with French master painters and sculptors. like Marius Reynaud and Auguste Rodin.

Influenced by the European Impressionist and Post-Impressionist schools, his paintings are mainly watercolors and oil paintings, depicting nature and landscapes, while his sculptures are often portraits of Characters, made of copper, wood and plaster materials.

In 1904, King Ham Nghi married Marcelle Laloe (1884 – 1974), the daughter of the Chief Justice of the High Court in Algiers.

The two had three children together: Princess Nhu Mai (1905 – 1999), Princess Nhu Ly (1908 – 2005) and Prince Minh Duc (1910 – 1990). Amandine Dabat, the great-granddaughter of Princess Nhu Ly and the fifth-generation descendant of King Ham Nghi, holds a Doctorate in Art History (Sorbonne University), a Master in Vietnamese Studies (Paris-Diderot University).

She is also a member of the Southeast Asia Center at EHESS. In 2015, Ms. Amandine Dabat successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the National Institute of Art History (Paris) with a topic related to King Ham Nghi named: “Ham Nghi – Empereur en exil, artiste à Alger”. (Ham Nghi – Emperor in exile, artist in Algeria”.

Recently, the book she wrote about King Ham Nghi received the Del Duca Foundation’s Literary Support Award.