Mai Thứ captures the concept of femininity from various perspectives throughout his work to celebrate Vietnamese traditions and folk culture through depictions of women. He favored painting in gouache and ink on silk to delineate women in various states such as Mélancolie, which through a fine treatment of details, depicts the beauty and tenderness of a young Vietnamese woman sitting on a wooden stool holding an open hand fan. Her restrained emotions, with their lustrous straight long dark hair complemented with soft-hued light green top and darker green pants—all come together as manifestations of beauty in accordance to traditional Vietnamese aesthetics. With an empty red sandal on the floor, she has raised her bare foot onto the stool to put her right elbow on her knee and rest her head in her right hand that completely conveys the sense of a melancholic moment in her life. The artist is one of the pioneers of modern Vietnamese painting. Born in Indochina during the French Colonization, Mai Thứ studied at the Fine Arts College of Indochina in Hanoi, graduating in its first class in 1930. In addition to mastering classical Western techniques of drawing and oil painting, he was skilled in figurative painting on silk and in various styles of Chinese painting. Seeking a new artistic expression that would be specifically Vietnamese, he gradually perfected a visual language after permanently settling in France in 1937. Through encounters with master painters of the European tradition, particularly Renaissance painters, Mai Thứ performed a subtle synthesis between Western and Vietnamese motifs. His pared-down images respond to a stylized ideal of gentleness and balance that led him to be considered among the most traditional of Vietnamese artists; however, in actuality, this universe, constructed from various references, is unique to Mai Thứ.

Mélancolie (Melancholy) by Mai Trung Thứ (Vietnamese) - Ink and gouache on silk / 1970 - Almine Rech Gallery (Paris, France) #womeninart #art #portrait #MaiThu #VietnameseArt #InkArt #SilkArt #portraitofawoman #womensart #MaiThứ #melancholy #artwork #AlmineRechGallery #VietnameseArtist #mélancolie

Born in 1906 in northern Vietnam, a French “colony” at the time, Mai Trung Thứ, or Mai Thứ, was was one of the graduates of the 1st (1930) class of the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine in Hanoi (Vietnam). Thừ was the son of a wealthy dignitary and was lucky not to be the oldest of his siblings, and, therefore, to be able to decide his destiny and his job. Five years after graduating, 1935, he completed this richly dressed bride using traditional and academic techniques. In the 3/4-length portrait with pistachio green background, a young Vietnamese woman stands expressionless staring straight ahead at the artist. Her hands a clasped together at her waist, but hidden from our view by the extremely long sleeves of a beautiful scarlet bridal Áo dài (tunic adorned with Vietnamese motifs and wide colorful stripes at the ends of each sleeve. A tiger orange colored blouse (possibly Áo bà ba) sits tight up to the neckline. The gown has an attached elegant patterned mint green stole with elaborate patterns and flowers in shades of red and blue. Small colored dangle earrings are the only jewelry seen; however, it is the azure blue conical khăn vành dây hat on her head that lets just a few strands of her black hair peek out. Thứ lived and worked mostly in France. His main subjects were women, children and daily life, incorporating some traditional Vietnamese conceptions about fine arts and folk arts. This is one of the few oil paintings completed by him as most of his art are silk paintings with gouache, by rubbing and colours applied as solids.

La Mariée (The Bride) by Mai Trung Thừ (Vietnamese) - Oil on canvas / 1935 - Musée Cernuschi (Paris, France) #womeninart #oilpainting #art #maithu #MuséeCernuschi #bride #artwork #MaiThừ #fineart #womensart #portraitofawoman #vietnameseart #MaiTrungThừ #Mariée #vietnamese #portrait #beauty #painting

A woman sits cross-legged playing a đàn nguyệt (moon-shaped lute) with a large round body and long thin neck. She wears an ao dai light green silk tunic with dark green pants plus an orange headband. The bemused look on her face conveys attentive skill and joy together.

Musicienne à la guitare by Mai Trung Thu (Vietnamese) - Ink and colors on silk / 1972 - Almine Rech (Matignon, Paris) #womeninart #art #vietnameseartist #artwork #painting #silkart #bsky.art #artoftheday #bskyart #vietnamese #vietnameseart #artbsky #maitrungthu #maithu