A Remedy for Exile: The Art of Emperor Ham Nghi
On display in the painting room until September 6, 2026.
An extraordinary destiny
Hàm Nghi's life story is a singular one; born in 1871 in Huế and died in Algiers in 1944, he experienced in turn the status of emperor of Vietnam, then that of a fugitive, hunted by French soldiers in the jungle, and finally that of political prisoner in Algiers where he became absorbed in artistic practice.
His childhood was marked by a violent succession crisis within the Nguyễn dynasty and by the end of Đại Việt's independence, which became a French protectorate in 1883. Hàm Nghi was placed on the throne in 1884, chosen for his young age of thirteen by the regents who held power. These regents launched an unsuccessful offensive against the French in July 1885 and made Hàm Nghi the standard-bearer of the anti-colonial resistance movement. The young man hides in the jungle for three years, before being betrayed and handed over to the colonial authorities.
