Published:  00:00 Tuesday - May 05, 2009

A portrait of one of the most prominent Vietnamese military commanders, General Vo Nguyen Giap, is on display at an exhibition, which opened in Hanoi on May 4.

The portrait is a present to General Giap from Pham Thi Doan Thanh, a German-Vietnamese painter, to mark his 98^th birthday in August.

The portrait’s background features a landscape of Vietnamese villages, peaceful and prosperous, as the painter remains inspired by her native land countryside even though she has lived in Germany for 30 years.

Born in Hanoi in 1950, Thanh studied art for 12 years in Vietnam and throughout her career has held a number of solo international exhibitions in Germany, Australia, Russia and China. She hoped that her paintings would help to promote Vietnam to friends across the world.

The exhibition of 85 paintings will run until May 14 at the Art Exhibition Hall, 16 Ngo Quyen street in Hanoi.