A collection of paintings of Russia made by a Vietnamese painter over 50 years ago are currently being exhibited in Hanoi in celebration of the ASEAN-Russia Culture Year 2016.

An exhibition of paintings of Russia and its people drawn by Vietnamese artist Le Lam is being held in the capital by the Puskin Institute and the Russian Teachers and Students Fund.

Now 85 years old, Lam graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 1953, and was sent to study in Russia, then the Soviet Union, for five years.

Over the course of his five-year stay in Russia, Lam painted hundreds of paintings capturing the beauty of the country and its people through his observations, mostly in water color and India ink.

Among the visitors to the exhibition were Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin V. Vnukov, the deputy ambassador of Uzbekistan to Vietnam, and Ukrainian Counselor to Vietnam Serhii Terhonii.

"Lam is the keeper of the Vietnamese people’s love for Russia, and has transferred it so elegantly into his works,” the Russian ambassador remarked at the exhibition.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Lam said he had never imagined that one day his paintings of Russia would be available for public appreciation, which he said was great happiness for someone who had studied in Russia.

The gallery will be open to the public at the Puskin Institute in Hanoi until Wednesday.

Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Vietnam Konstantin V. Vnukov appreciates a painting by Vietnamese artist Le Lam at an exhibition at the Puskin Institute in Hanoi on June 6, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Have a look at some of Le Lam’s works being exhibited at the Puskin Institute in Hanoi:

Russian scenery

Autumn in Russia

A Russian woman

Russian scenery

Workers at a factory in Russia

Russian scenery

A sketch painting of Puskin and his wife

Russian scenery

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