Ngwe Gaing
Encyclopedia
Ngwe Gaing was a Burmese artist who worked in both oil and watercolor. After the death of his teacher Ba Nyan
, he was recognized as the greatest living painter in Myanmar
. He had great influence on the next generation of artists, and his works are now highly sought after.
ancestry, Ngwe Gaing was born in Myeik and was raised in Dawei
. He was initially self taught and then improved his skills via an American correspondence painting course. He was forced to work at a number of menial jobs until he was able to support himself as an artist. He was first taught by Po Aung
and later by Ba Ohn and Ba Sein, finally becoming a pupil of the famous artist Ba Nyan
, after Ba Nyan returned from England in 1930. Ngwe Gaing, however, was not a formal live-in apprentice of Ba Nyan, rather studying with Ba Nyan on weekends in his free time.
With Ba Nyan's death in 1945, Ngwe Gaing was recognized as Burma's leading artist. During a drive to stamp out corruption in the post-independence period, he collaborated with the cartoonist Ba Gyan
to produce a series of powerful and effective posters. In 1952 he was sent to England for a year, where he painted copies of Burmese antiquities in the Victoria & Albert Museum. In 1953, he was given the title Alinga Kyawzwa, the highest title that can be bestowed on an artist in Burma. In his private life, Ngwe Gaing was also a well known alchemist and clairvoyant. He was an honest, hardworking and unassuming person.
According to the artist Min Naing, he excelled in his choice of "poster subjects and settings". Another commentator, speaking of his series of large historical panels, said his power perhaps showed to better advantage in easel works such as the romantic "Recluse in the Forest" or a graceful portrait of one of Burma's classical dancers. He painted stage settings for films on traditional themes before the war, and when there was a vogue for stage plays after World War II, he painted stage settings for the makeshift Myaing Theatre in the Kandawgyi Park. Some of his paintings were huge, up to 20×60 feet (6×20 meters), such as a work he executed in 1963 for the first Workers Conference.
He painted portraits of notable people such as President Ba U
, film star Wah Wah Win Shwe and film director Shumawa U Kyaw. His mnemonic powers in Burma, in which he painted portraits of subjects from memory, were famous in Burma, although he is also known to have started a painting from a photograph and then only require the model for the final stages. He made a series of paintings of historic events, including "The Battle of Shwedaung", "The Flag Hoisting Ceremony on Independence Day", "The Panlong Accord" and "the Nay Thurein Congress". Other works depicted scenes of the Jataka tales, and events in the life of the Buddha
. He traveled widely in Burma to find subjects, making sketches that he would later paint in oils or watercolours, often scenes of the daily life of ordinary people and particularly portraits of Burma's many ethnic peoples. The latter subject was a major enterprise which he embarked upon.
Works by Ngwe Gaing are also held in the Singapore Art Museum and other prominent regional collections.
Ngwe Gaing is considered one of the great masters of modern Burmese painting. He made an outstanding contribution through his versatility, technical skill and influence on a generation of Burmese painters. In the post-WWII years, many painters sought instruction from Ngwe Gaing, packing his studio to watch him work, just as painters had flocked to Ba Nyan
in the pre-war years. Among the painters influenced by Ngwe Gaing were Myat Kyaw, San Win
, Hla Shein, Ko Lay, Hla Maung Gyi, Nann Wai, Thein, Han Tin, San Pe, M. Tin Aye, and Lun Gywe
.
Ba Nyan
Ba Nyan was a Burmese painter who has been called the greatest name in modern painting in Myanmar. His oil paintings were quiet and academic in their style, but display occasional flashes of virtuosity in bold brushstrokes and skillful handling of the medium....
, he was recognized as the greatest living painter in Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
. He had great influence on the next generation of artists, and his works are now highly sought after.
Life
Of Burmese ChineseBurmese Chinese
The Burmese Chinese or Chinese Burmese are a group of overseas Chinese born or raised in Burma . Although the Chinese officially make up three percent of the population, the actual figure is believed to be much higher...
ancestry, Ngwe Gaing was born in Myeik and was raised in Dawei
Dawei
-Transport:Only recently Dawei was connected to the rest of Myanmar by road and rail. There are plans to construct a deepwater port in Dawei. In November 2010, the Myanmar Port Authority signed a USD $8.6 billion deal with Italian-Thai Development to develop a deep sea port at Dawei...
. He was initially self taught and then improved his skills via an American correspondence painting course. He was forced to work at a number of menial jobs until he was able to support himself as an artist. He was first taught by Po Aung
Po Aung
Po Aung is a village in Bhamo Township in Bhamo District in the Kachin State of north-eastern Burma..-External links:**...
and later by Ba Ohn and Ba Sein, finally becoming a pupil of the famous artist Ba Nyan
Ba Nyan
Ba Nyan was a Burmese painter who has been called the greatest name in modern painting in Myanmar. His oil paintings were quiet and academic in their style, but display occasional flashes of virtuosity in bold brushstrokes and skillful handling of the medium....
, after Ba Nyan returned from England in 1930. Ngwe Gaing, however, was not a formal live-in apprentice of Ba Nyan, rather studying with Ba Nyan on weekends in his free time.
With Ba Nyan's death in 1945, Ngwe Gaing was recognized as Burma's leading artist. During a drive to stamp out corruption in the post-independence period, he collaborated with the cartoonist Ba Gyan
Ba Gyan
Ba Gyan was a pioneering Burmese cartoonist, who created the first cartoon movie released in Burma in 1935. Ba Gyan's cartoons covered a wide variety of topics and events, and ridiculed human frailties such as discourtesy, dishonesty, snobbery, arrogance, inefficiency and sloth.Ba Gyan was born in...
to produce a series of powerful and effective posters. In 1952 he was sent to England for a year, where he painted copies of Burmese antiquities in the Victoria & Albert Museum. In 1953, he was given the title Alinga Kyawzwa, the highest title that can be bestowed on an artist in Burma. In his private life, Ngwe Gaing was also a well known alchemist and clairvoyant. He was an honest, hardworking and unassuming person.
Work
Ngwe Gaing was a prolific and versatile painter who worked in both oil and watercolour (both transparent and gouache), and he also did pencil drawings. His subjects comprised a wide range—historical paintings, landscapes, portraits, and still life. His oil paintings were meticulous in their attention to detail. They typically used heavily but carefully applied brush strokes, in the impasto style, and an array of complex colour designs.According to the artist Min Naing, he excelled in his choice of "poster subjects and settings". Another commentator, speaking of his series of large historical panels, said his power perhaps showed to better advantage in easel works such as the romantic "Recluse in the Forest" or a graceful portrait of one of Burma's classical dancers. He painted stage settings for films on traditional themes before the war, and when there was a vogue for stage plays after World War II, he painted stage settings for the makeshift Myaing Theatre in the Kandawgyi Park. Some of his paintings were huge, up to 20×60 feet (6×20 meters), such as a work he executed in 1963 for the first Workers Conference.
He painted portraits of notable people such as President Ba U
Ba U
Dr. Ba U was the 2nd President of Union of Burma and a lawyer, High Court judge, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Burma , and President of Burma from 16 March 1952 to 13 March 1957. He was a member of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League. Ba U served as a judge under British, Japanese and...
, film star Wah Wah Win Shwe and film director Shumawa U Kyaw. His mnemonic powers in Burma, in which he painted portraits of subjects from memory, were famous in Burma, although he is also known to have started a painting from a photograph and then only require the model for the final stages. He made a series of paintings of historic events, including "The Battle of Shwedaung", "The Flag Hoisting Ceremony on Independence Day", "The Panlong Accord" and "the Nay Thurein Congress". Other works depicted scenes of the Jataka tales, and events in the life of the Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
. He traveled widely in Burma to find subjects, making sketches that he would later paint in oils or watercolours, often scenes of the daily life of ordinary people and particularly portraits of Burma's many ethnic peoples. The latter subject was a major enterprise which he embarked upon.
Legacy
The Shan State Museum holds two of his classic works: "The Hopong Springs" and "The Stately Procession of the Hpaung-Daw-Oo Buddha Images". The National Museum in Yangon displays other masterpieces including "the Isle of Myeik", "Scenic Ranaung", "The Inlay Floating Bazaar", "Scenic Environs of Dawei", "Maungmagan" and "Some of our Ethnic Brethren". His last work was a series of scenes from the Jatakas for the "Shwe Mokhti" pagoda in Dawei, where they hang in the covered passageways to the pagoda.Works by Ngwe Gaing are also held in the Singapore Art Museum and other prominent regional collections.
Ngwe Gaing is considered one of the great masters of modern Burmese painting. He made an outstanding contribution through his versatility, technical skill and influence on a generation of Burmese painters. In the post-WWII years, many painters sought instruction from Ngwe Gaing, packing his studio to watch him work, just as painters had flocked to Ba Nyan
Ba Nyan
Ba Nyan was a Burmese painter who has been called the greatest name in modern painting in Myanmar. His oil paintings were quiet and academic in their style, but display occasional flashes of virtuosity in bold brushstrokes and skillful handling of the medium....
in the pre-war years. Among the painters influenced by Ngwe Gaing were Myat Kyaw, San Win
San Win
San Win was a painter who is renowned in Burma as the first Burmese painter to embrace impressionism as his chief style of depiction...
, Hla Shein, Ko Lay, Hla Maung Gyi, Nann Wai, Thein, Han Tin, San Pe, M. Tin Aye, and Lun Gywe
Lun Gywe
Lun Gywe is a Burmese painter who works in oil and watercolor. Outside of Myanmar his work has been exhibited, often in solo shows, in Japan, the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, Australia, New York, the Republic of Singapore.-Life:...
.
Collections
- National Museum of MyanmarNational Museum of MyanmarThe National Museum of Myanmar, , located in Dagon, Yangon, is the main museum of Burmese art, history and culture in Myanmar. Founded in 1952, the five-story museum has an extensive collection of ancient artifacts, ornaments, works of art, inscriptions and historic memorabilia, related to history,...
- Singapore Art MuseumSingapore Art MuseumThe Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...
- Tatmadaw [Defense Services] Museum, Yangon
- (Yangon) Universities Central Library