Biography

Mai Trung Thứ, also known as Mai Thứ, was a prominent Vietnamese painter born in 1906 in An Dương, Vietnam, and passed away on October 10, 1980, in Hải Phòng. He was part of the first graduating class of the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine in Hanoi, a pivotal institution for Vietnamese artists during the colonial period. Mai Trung Thứ is best known for his exquisite silk paintings, a medium in which he excelled by using gouache and applying colors as solids. His works often depicted women, children, and scenes of daily life, reflecting traditional Vietnamese aesthetics and cultural themes. After his education, Mai Trung Thứ moved to France, where he spent most of his career. His art is celebrated for its delicate portrayal of Vietnamese life and its integration of folk art elements. Although he primarily worked with silk, he also experimented with oil painting. His ability to capture the subtleties of Vietnamese culture and his mastery of silk painting have made his works highly collectible. Mai Trung Thứ's legacy endures as a significant figure in the Vietnamese modern art movement, influencing both his contemporaries and future generations of artists.