Mai Trung Thu (1906 - 1980) | Portrait de Mme N.D. et de sa fille

Commissioned directly from the artist by the grandparents of the present owner in 1941, and thence preserved in the family by descent.

Mai-Thu : écho d'un Vietnam rêvé, Musée des Ursulines, Mâcon, 2021, cat. 55.

Lê Phô, Mai-Thu, Vu Cao Dam - Pionniers de l’art moderne vietnamien en France, Musée Cernuschi, Paris, 2024, cat. no. 57.

In July 1940, shortly after his demobilization, Mai-Thu settled in Mâcon, where he was warmly received by several local families. These supportive connections soon led to a number of artistic commissions. In 1941, he was entrusted with the execution of a commemorative painting dedicated to soldiers who died during the First World War, for the Sainte-Thérèse-de-Lisieux chapel in the church of Saint-Pierre in Mâcon (fig. 1). That same year, he also received several private portrait commissions, which allowed him to fully demonstrate the refinement of his talent as a portraitist.

From 1937 onwards, Mai-Thu devoted himself to painting on silk—a delicate and demanding medium that allows for no corrections. His technique combined precision of line with subtle color washes, merging the elegance of Far Eastern aesthetics with the visual language of Western painting. This synthesis is particularly evident in the balance of his compositions, the measured realism of his subjects, and the controlled restraint of his backgrounds. 

It was within this context that Mai-Thu painted Portrait of Mrs. N. D. and Her Daughter, shortly after his demobilization. Depicting the daughter-in-law of a renowned surgeon in Mâcon, the work was commissioned his hosts. Today, it stands as one of the rare testimonies to the artist’s Mâcon period. Also in 1941, Mai-Thu painted Portrait of Mrs. M. D., representing Madeleine D., another daughter-in-law of the surgeon. In the same year, he also executed a drawing of Madeleine’s son on the occasion of his first birthday.

Preserved within the family across generations, this portrait captures a suspended moment—an intimate exchange between the artist’s gaze and the familial bond it celebrates. In the serene and luminous presence of the sitter, East and West meet in a silent dialogue on silk, giving rise to a rare, poetic, and deeply human work.