Audience and experts have expressed doubts over the authenticity of the paintings that are on display at Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, suggesting most of them are fakes.

Saint Giong by Nguyen Tu Nghiem

Collector Vu Xuan Chung opened the Paintings Returned from Europe exhibition on July 10 to introduce 17 paintings by Vietnamese artists Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Duong Bich Lien, Nguyen Sang and Bui Xuan Phai.

Audience who came to the exhibition have claimed that 15 paintings are fake.

However collector Vu Xuan Chung said Jean-Francois Hubert, senior consultant for Vietnamese art at the auction house Christie's Hong Kong, had confirmed that all 17 paintings are original.

Hua Thanh Binh, vice director of the museum, said he had just returned from the US so he didn't take part in the evaluation process but there were some missing paintings that hadn't been discovered, especially ones painted before 1975.

"My normal routine is having collectors send me photos of the paintings via email. If the painters are still alive then I'll send them the photos for confirmation. If they are dead then the collectors must show us the paintings for evaluation," he said.

He went on to say it's not easy to determine a fake painting. They will have to call for an extended committee to review the origins of the paintings and compare them with other works. They may have to search for witnesses who know about the paintings' existence.

Trinh Xuan Yen, the museum's second vice director, said Chung had all the certificates and permits for the exhibition. He said they'd close the exhibition if the paintings were proved to be fake.

The exhibition will run from July 10-21.