zinc-engraving, were used. The art works bore traditional folk
characteristics in form and dealt with direct social issues. In the
resistance zones, where contact and communication with the
outside world was out of the question, Vietnamese fine art went
through a development period of self-sustained transition. At the
same time, in the occupied urban areas, painting and drawing
maintained their old forms within the context of the general
trends of romanticism and formalism. The artistic inspirations
drawn from the expression of human emotions and feelings and
from the natural beauty of wildlife in the artists’ zones of resistance
were on display in a collection of their sketches and drawings. The
Resistance School of Fine Arts formally opened in Viet Bac, with
painter To Ngoc Van as its founding director. The school has
trained a generation of resistance painters. Its training methods
were similar to those used at the Indochinese School of Fine Arts.
These resistance painters looked up to the first generation of artists
and regarded them as their models of personal dignity and artistic
idealism. These resistance artists have made a tremendous
contribution to social activities and most of them subsequently
worked as lecturers in fine art. Nevertheless, their artistic standing
is modest in comparison with the generation of artists preceding