Ham Nghi (1871-1944), personal name Nguyen Phuc Minh, came to the throne in 1884 and was the 8th king of the Nguyen Dynasty, which ruled from 1802 to 1945.
He issued the Aid the King edict, calling for patriots to rise up against the French colonialists to regain independence and freedom.
Ham Nghi was detained by the French in 1888 and exiled to Algiers, the capital of Algeria, the following year. He lived in a villa on El Biar hill, about 12km from Algiers, and continue to uphold the homeland’s traditions until his death in January, 1944.
During his years in exile, the king learned to paint and sculpt, and followed the art movements of impressionism and post-impressionism. He created 91 paintings and a number of sculptures. His work became known to the art world through auctions and exhibitions in France.
His oil painting “Hillsides in Deli Ibrahim (Algiers)”, created in 1908, depicts the countryside near his home in Algiers.
The museum said this painting will be presented by Amandine Dabat, a fifth-generation descendant of King Ham Nghi with a PhD in art history.
On Tuesday, a seminar on the book “Ham Nghi – Exiled Emperor, Artist in Algeria” was held in Hue city. The Vietnamese version of the book was published last month.