Executed in the late 1978, this work belongs to the artist’s final major productions. Painting with a sense of confidence, Mai Thu revels in one of his most sought-after themes - the female nude and daily life: While Mai Trung Thu’s oeuvre is dominated by single or double figure compositions, Le Petit Cours d’eau, la baignade depicts 14 female figures, making it one of his most complex group compositions.
Spanning nearly 70 cm in height, the elongated format follows the compositional logic of Chinese painting (经营位置 ). In 1960, the French critic Maximilien Gautier (1893–1977) provided the first in-depth analysis of Mai Trung Thu’s technique, noting that he consistently observes the Six Principles of Chinese Painting formulated by the sixth-century theorist Xie He.
- The Three Graces
The three standing women represent the Three Graces from Greek mythology, re-imagined in a Vietnamese context. European artists from the 14th to 17th centuries, such as Raphael, Botticelli, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, explored the Graces, often arranging the figures in interlinked formations to convey harmony and balance.
Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510) Featuring Charites, Three Graces in Primavera (c. 1482) Uffizzi Gallery, Florence. - Hommage to Impressionism
Homage to the subject of communal bathing captured by the Impressionist artists, seen in works by Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Bathers in the Forest (Baigneuses dans la forêt), c. 1897, Oil on canvas. The Barnes Foundation, BF901.
Creating a sense of depth and perspective through color, the work can be loosely divided into four sections, articulated by the ochre in the foreground, translucent blues in the river, vibrant green in the bank and emerald for the lush background. This mastery of chromatism continues in the pop of bright washcloths, whose vivid hues assert the individuality of each figure.
The painting evokes poetic imagery found in the Nguyễn Du’s famous epic poem, The Tale of Kiều (Truyện Kiều), where maidens by rivers symbolize beauty, youth, and the fleeting nature of life. The bathers evokes a sense of idyllic leisure and intimacy. The figures appear relaxed, playful, and at ease with one another, capturing a moment of quiet spontaneity.
The depiction of the nude is exceptionally rare in Vietnamese painting, reflecting the conservative social context in which many early modern Vietnamese artists were trained. For Mai Thu, the subject became accessible only after his arrival in Paris, where exposure to both classical and modern Western traditions allowed him to study the human form with greater freedom and sophistication. During his t.mes
in France, Mai Thu produced a series of works inspired by masterworks he encountered at the Louvre and other museums. He reinterpreted these iconic compositions through his own artistic language, infusing canonical Western imagery with a distinctly Vietnamese sensibility and the refined elegance of his silk technique.
