Beaming with a playful spirit and tender affection, Mai Trung Thu’s Mere et L’Enfant (Mother and Child) (Lot 1012) is a magnificent paragon of the artist’s poetic representations of Vietnam. Emblematic of the artist’s signature figurative style and mastery of the silk medium, the current work portrays an aristocratic Vietnamese woman cradling her child who holds a toy delicately between his fingers. Mere et L’Enfant (Mother and Child) was executed in 1942, with striking resemblance to Mai Thu’s 1943 work, Lady Writing a Poem, which is the current auction record for a silk painting by the artist sold at Replica Shoes ’s Hong Kong in April 2021. Both works feature Mai Thu’s feminine beauty adorned in elegant white fabrics and comprise of a romantic and soft-hued palette, symbolizing the artist’s prevailing nostalgia for his homeland.

The posture of the mother and child closely resembles depictions of Madonna by Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, who Mai Thu drew deep inspiration from. Every movement in Mere et L’Enfant (Mother and Child) is illustrated with the finest care and detail – placing two protecting hands over her child, the mother draws him closer and presses his rounded cheek to hers. Mai Thu enlivens the boy’s traditional tunic with a vibrant shade of tangerine; as the boy raises one hand to touch his mother’s porcelain face, his other hand seems to twirl a small circular toy. Dressed in a light cream aò dái, the mother’s silhouette seems to elongate under the lustrous folds of the fabric, as Mai Thu adorns her elegant figure with a jade green scarf that flows across the top of her dress to the small of her waist.

梅忠恕在國際藝壇聲名日盛，《母與子》這次亮相拍賣，正值其藝術市場發展的關鍵時刻。蘇富比於 2021 年 4 月拍賣梅氏作品《芳小姐的肖像》，刷新越南藝術品的世界拍賣記錄。與此同時，法國馬孔的烏爾蘇拉博物館目前正在舉行梅忠恕的首個回顧展。
梅氏對越南的描寫詩意盎然，而本作漫溢溫馨喜悅，正是當中的典範。本作描繪一位懷抱著孩子的越南貴族婦女，小孩小心翼翼地把玩具拈在指間，作品展現梅氏的具像風格特色，以及對絲綢作為創作媒材的掌握。《母與子》創作於 1942 年，與他1943 年的作品《作詩的仕女》非常相似，後者剛於 2021 年 4 月在香港蘇富比上拍，創下梅忠恕絹本畫目前的拍賣紀錄。兩幅作品中的女子都是一身白衣，色調柔和浪漫，展示了梅忠恕眼中的女性之美，亦流露出藝術家多年以來對家鄉的懷念。

意大利文藝復興時期藝術家拉斐爾對梅忠恕啟發良多，如將本畫中的母子與拉斐爾筆下的聖母比較，不難看出兩者姿態相近之處。梅氏在本畫中，細緻入微地刻劃母子的動作，慈母雙手護著孩兒，將他拉近身邊，以臉頰緊貼兒子的圓臉。藝術家運用充滿活力的橘色調，為男孩身穿的傳統服裝增添活潑色彩；男孩一隻手撫摸母親細滑如脂的臉龐，另一隻手則似乎在轉動一個圓形的小玩具。母親身穿奶白色奧黛，肩披一條青綠如玉的圍巾，衣料明亮的褶皺令她的身驅顯得更為修長， 圍巾下垂及腰，映襯著她身段的優雅 。