MAI TRUNG THỨ (1906-1980) Poem on silk Work of... Lot 2

MAI TRUNG THỨ (1906-1980) Poem on silk Work of Pham Van Ky, illustrated with eight lithographs of drawings on silk by Mai Trung Thứ bearing the signature and the bucket of the artist. The book is presented in a black silk cover and a black hardback slipcase. This work is number 226. Éditions Euros, Paris. Ateliers L'Ibis and Daragnès printing house, Paris, 1961 18 x 12.4 cm - 7 1/8 x 4 7/8 in. 12,8 x 10,1 cm - 5 x 4 in. Born in 1906 near Haiphong, Mai Trung Thứ attended the French high-school in Hanoi. Like Lê Phổ, Vũ Cao Đàm and Lê Văn Đệ, he was in the first year of students at the École des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine, founded and directed by the painter Victor Tardieu. Invited to take part in the 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition, Mai Trung Thứ discovered and fell in love with France, where he settled in the late 30’s and stayed until he died. Although strongly influenced by the teachings of Tardieu and Joseph Inguimberty, he is the one of his comrades who retained the deepest-rooted sense of Vietnamese identity. He soon abandoned oils for gouache and ink on silk: typical Asian techniques that enabled him to develop a style richly reminiscent of traditional Chinese and Vietnamese art. Although an independent artist, he remained politically committed and concerned about the future of his country.