The story of Picasso's painting celebrating the restoration of peace in Vietnam

"Long live peace" is a painting and also the warmest and most meaningful congratulation sent by the famous artist Pablo Picasso to Vietnam after the Geneva Agreement was signed in 1954. This is the painting commissioned by the newspaper L'Humanité (French Communist Party) and published in a special issue on July 25, 1954 to honor this historic event.

The painting "Long Live Peace" was published in the special issue of the newspaper L'Humanité on July 25, 1954. The original (size: 65.5cm x 55.5cm) is currently kept at the Museum of Art and History in the city of Saint Denis, a northern suburb of Paris.

During the years of resistance against French colonialism, the Nhân Đạo newspaper always stood side by side with and supported Vietnam, was the leading flag on the propaganda front, mobilized and gathered support from communists and peace-loving French people as well as international friends towards the resilient and heroic country of Vietnam. One of the international friends who always expected peace to be restored soon in Vietnam was the famous painter Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).

Born on October 25, 1881 into a traditional artistic family in the port city of Malaga in southern Spain, he was a painter and sculptor, commonly known as Pablo Picasso or Picasso. As one of the most prominent artists in the world in the 20th century, he and Georges Braque were the two founders of the Cubist school in painting and sculpture. "Dove" was the theme that Picasso cherished since his youth, through which he wanted to convey all his soul and desire for freedom, desire for peace. Picasso's doves of peace as the voice of peace have become famous all over the world and contributed to awakening the spirit of peace.

Picasso was not only a famous painter but also a tireless fighter for peace, freedom and social progress. Picasso always stood on the side of the working people, the poor and fought against oppression, injustice, fascism and imperialism. Therefore, naturally, he sympathized with and supported the just struggle of the Vietnamese people. For Picasso, the paintings of doves were a narrative of his life and feelings about peace, and then became a symbol of peace, of the desire for peace. Picasso's image of a flying dove holding an olive branch was used at the World Peace Congress in Paris in 1949, and was later awarded the International Peace Prize in 1955. In October 1944, Picasso became a member of the French Communist Party (PCF), and from there learned a lot about the French colonial occupation and oppression as well as the patriotism and indomitable fighting spirit of the Vietnamese people, where there was the person who sought the way to save the country, Nguyen Ai Quoc. According to the Editorial Board of Nhan Dao newspaper, Picasso was very interested in Vietnam's resistance against French colonialism. That was also the reason why he was able to quickly depict clearly the Vietnamese wearing hats celebrating the restoration of peace in the painting "Long Live Peace". This special painting was made at the request of the Editorial Board of the Nhân Đạo newspaper to celebrate the signing of the Geneva Agreement, scheduled to be published on the front page of the August 1, 1954 issue, but then appeared earlier in the special Sunday issue on July 25, 1954. The Museum of Arts and History in the city of Saint Denis, a northern suburb of Paris near the Nhân Đạo newspaper office, which preserves and has organized many exhibitions of Picasso's paintings, including the painting "Long Live Peace", confirmed to the reporter of the Nhân Dân newspaper stationed in France as follows: Picasso, an enthusiastic member of the Peace Movement in France, painted the painting "Long Live Peace" in July 1954 on the occasion of the signing of the Agreement on the end of hostilities in Indochina in 1954.

In the painting "The Peaceful Sardane," the Sardane is a traditional dance of the people of Catalonia (Spain) where people hold hands in a circle to the music played by a combination of many musical instruments (cobla).

The painting "Long Live Peace" congratulating Vietnam was inspired by the painting "Sardane of Peace" that he painted on September 20, 1953, which is kept at the Museum of the village of Céret (now a city) in France, bordering Spain. He stayed here in 1911, 1912, 1913, and then 1953, often meeting and discussing with French communists in this area. On September 20, 1953, the French Communist Party branch in the city of Céret held a meeting to honor Picasso. Here he painted the painting "Sardane of Peace" as a gift to the French Communist Party branch in Céret. A few years later, this painting was kept at the Museum of Contemporary Art in the city of Céret. After the Geneva Agreement, when the US intervened in Vietnam, he also used the language of painting to protest the bloody war and express his feelings for the Vietnamese people. The Editorial Board of the Nhan Dan newspaper said: With deep affection and support for the aspirations of the Vietnamese people in the long struggle to regain peace and independence, Picasso had the idea and completed it very quickly to send it to the special issue of the Nhan Dan newspaper to celebrate this historic event. With Picasso's painting published on the front page of the special issue on July 25, 1954, the Nhan Dan newspaper of the French Communist Party also had an editorial expressing such heartfelt congratulations: We all share the same happiness. Long live peace! Long live happiness! Source: https://nhandan.vn/cau-chuyen-ve-buc-hoa-cua-picasso-mung-hoa-binh-lap-lai-o-viet-nam-post819842.html