VietNamNet Bridge – A complex of the most valuable sculptural works in the history of sculpture in Vietnam--which is little known, is located in the campus of La Vang Holy Land in Hai Lang District, Quang Tri Province.

Panorama of the Rosary Square

La Vang Holy Land is a shrine located in Hai Lang district, Quang Tri Province. Christians believe that Mary showed flexibility in this area in 1798 and a church was erected near the three banyan trees, where the apparitions dwell and is an important place of pilgrimage for Catholics of Vietnam. La Vang Holy was awarded by the Vatican Holy and is the Emirate Palace of La Vang Cathedral since 1961.

Through many ups and downs, La Vang was reconstructed several times. During the reconstruction, the complex of statues in this sanctuary--the creation of sculptor Le Ngoc Hue (also known as Bernard Hue, born 1936 in Hue) and his talented student - Mai Chung.

Le Ngoc Hue graduated from the Fine Arts College Montpeller (France) and was a professor of Hue College of Fine Arts. He blew a new wind of modernist sculpture into Vietnam’s sculpture.

The complex of statues in the La Vang Holy Land was created in 1961-1962, including 15 statues made of white cement, which are placed on pedestals along the road from the gate to the Rosary Square. The square is 30 x 480 meters in area. This leads to the temple and the outdoor rostra, which is the epitome of the Nam Giao Esplanade in Hue.

In summer 1972, the Rosary Square was bombed and some statues were destroyed or severely dented. Only three artificial banyan trees at the Mary statue were intact. The desolation lasted until 1975. Since 1995, the Rosary Square was rebuilt and the complex of states was also restored.

The new way of thinking about sculpture

The 15 statues by Le Ngoc Hue are corresponding to 15 mysteries of the Rosary, including the five Joyful mysteries, the five Sorrowful mysteries, and the five Glorious mysteries.

In terms of art, the statues in La Vang were the first in Vietnam that are in the abstract modern style. They are a combination of refined and stylized geometry, which used to be the modern art movements of the West.

Significantly, not only geometric stylizing, Le Ngoc Hue create shadow effects of light and dark between blocks with poetic details.

Le Ngoc Hue was a member of the committee of art professionals in the First Exhibition of Fine Arts, comprising artworks from 22 countries, held at Tao Dan Park, Saigon in October 1962. At this exhibition, Le Ngoc Hue and Diem Phung Thi were the two most important sculptors of Vietnam. We have had almost no information about the art works of sculptor Le Ngoc Hue since Ngo Dinh Diem coup in 1963 because after this event, Hue went to France.

The statues featuring the 15 mysteries of the Rosary in La Vang:

Group 1: The five Joyful mysteries

Group 2: The five Sorrowful mysteries

Group 3: The five Glorious mysteries

TT&VH