A veteran Vietnamese painter, whose oeuvre and talent are enthusiastically raved about in European countries, has passed away in Paris at the age of 94.

Le Ba Dang, a revered master artist, died from old age at his home on Saturday, Dinh Thi Hoai Trai, director of the Le Ba Dang Art Center in Hue, announced on Monday.

His funeral was organized in the French capital.

Many Vietnamese artists and art enthusiasts paid tribute to the painter at a solemn ceremony which was organized on Monday afternoon at the center, located in the central Vietnamese province of Thua Thien- Hue.

Born in 1921 in the central province of Quang Tri, Dang went to France as a military worker in 1939.

He later joined anti-Nazi troops and was held captive by the Nazi government.

Dang then enrolled at the Toulouse Art Institute and was catapulted into celebrity as one of Europe’s most salient artists after holding his first exhibit in Paris in 1950.

He won an award given by the U.S.’s International Institute of St. Louis in 1989.

Three years later, the artist was listed as one of the most valuable academics of the 20th century by the International Biography Center under Cambridge University.

In 1994, he was bestowed with a medal in recognition of artistic and cultural contributions by the French government.

Dang is widely recognized as a connector of the Oriental and Western art worlds. 

He also came up with his own art methodology called “Lebadangspaces.”

The eminent artist organized his first exhibition in Vietnam in his hometown in 1992.

The Le Ba Dang Art Center, at 15 Le Loi Street, Hue, was established in 2006 as an exhibition venue for his myriad artworks, including noted paintings.

Dang was also active in promoting artistic activity in his home country.

Revered artist Le Ba Dang is seen at the Le Ba Dang Art Center in Hue City in 2010. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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