Entitled “Mai Thu: The Return of a Talented Artist to Mâcon”, the documentary has been created as part of an exhibition featuring 140 works, documents and images that depict the artistic journey of the painter.
The exhibition is being jointly held by the Musée des Ursulines de Mâcon and the Musée Cernuschi.
Since opening on July 16, the exhibition has attracted over 10,000 visitors and the organisers decided to extend it to January 2, 2022, instead of the scheduled closing date of October 24.
The 17-minute documentary was directed by Elsa Gonzalez, with narratives by the director, Tristan Le Brun and Thu’s daughter Mai Lan Phuong.
Mai Trung Thu was among the first graduates of the École des Beaux Arts de l’Indochine and one the first painters to take Vietnamese arts to catch up with modern trends.
His works are regarded as the perfect combination of Eastern traditions with Western styles.
His 1930 work “Portrait de Mademoiselle Phuong” was recently sold for 3.1 million USD.
Mai Trung Thu and his contemporaries Vu Cao Dam, Le Thi Luu and Le Pho were nicknamed the “Four Talents of Vietnam”.
