THE ART OF INTERIOR MURAL DECORATION IN KIEN TRUNG PALACE, HUE

Abstract

Kien Trung Palace, built during the reign of Emperor Khai Dinh, is a particularly prominent architectural work
within the Imperial City of Hue. The palace clearly reflects the fusion of Eastern and Western architecture and
f
ine arts in the early twentieth century. This paper focuses on the study of the murals in the interior of Kien Trung
Palace, examining their themes, artistic styles, techniques, and materials. The research findings show that the
murals in the palace's interior were strongly influenced by Western art, marking a clear distinction from the
decorative genres and forms commonly found in other areas of the Imperial City. They thus created aesthetic
characteristics that conveyed the ideology and cultural reception trends of the Nguyen dynasty in its later phase.
The study also highlights the role of these murals in shaping the spatial identity, supporting heritage
conservation, and promoting cultural values in the present, while serving as a foundation for new approaches in
research and the application of contemporary decoration.