Hailed as one of the four masters of modern Vietnamese art, Nguyen Gia Tri earned his reputation by transforming Vietnamese lacquer painting from craft to fine art with his French teachers and classmates at I'Ecole des Beaux-Arts.He enrolled in the school in 1929, one year after Joseph Inguimberty established the lacquer department.

The founding of the lacquer department at 'Ecole des Beaux-Arts marked a decisive moment in the history of Vietnamese lacquer painting.Before that, the tradition ofVietnamese lacquer painting dates back to the Ly Dynasty in the 11th century, and the material was primarily used in palaces and temples. From craftsmanship to fine art, lacquer took on a new life when Joseph Inguimberty created a course on using lacquer as an artistic medium. Fascinated by the potential of this material, Nguyen Gia Tri conducted several experiments with Alix Ayme, Pham Hau, Nguyen Khang, To Ngoc Van, Le Pho, etc.

Traditionally, lacquer's color palette was limited to translucent brown (canh gian, often called cockroach wing color), black, and shades of red. Under the guidance of Vietnamese artisanDinh Van Thanh, Nguyen Gia Tri and his fellows discovered the use of organic materials, such as eggshells, pearl shells, and ivory, to obtain various new colors. Nguyen Gia Tri is known for combining foreign techniques, such as engraving, inlay methods, and principles of European painting, with his innovative lacquer techniques for preparing, sanding, and coloration. He would typically use lipstick, charcoal, gold, silver, and eggshell to create various shades of colors and light effects. His creative use of eggshells and grinding techniques made his work stand out from his peers.

The subject matter of Nguyen Gia Tri's lacquer paintings ranges from female figures and landscapes of rural Vietnam to abstraction. His paintings often render theatrical effects by juxtaposing contrasting emblems - ancient and modern, luxurious and rustic, hope and nostalgia.

Born into a family whose forebears were craftsmen and textile embroiders for the imperial court, Nguyen Gia Tri began cultivating his talent at a young age.He received a five-star ranking for the entrance examination at 'Ecole des Beaux-Arts de I'lndochine, which made him one of the only three students with the highest score throughout the school's history.Upon his graduation in 1936, he started a lacquer studio in Hanoi, where many of his assistants were also students from the school. Soon, his lacquer paintings became sought-after among high-ranking officials and businessmen in Indochina and private collectors in France.