The Facts
Aguttes will offer a large-scale silk painting by Mai Trung Thứ at its 53rd auction dedicated to Asian painters, a work the auction house describes as among the artist's most sophisticated. The composition unites two motifs—the female figure and the landscape—in a dreamlike scene featuring Vietnamese odalisques in languid poses, a rare nude subject within the artist's oeuvre. The painting, which has remained in private hands for nearly 60 years, was originally purchased from the Moyon-Avenard Gallery, a Nantes institution since 1885. The scene, interpreted as a variation on women bathing, includes a voyeur concealed in the foliage, a playful reference to Old Master subjects such as Diana or Bathsheba.
The Signal
The work reflects Mai Trung Thứ's admiration for the Old Masters and his academic training at the École des Beaux-Arts de l'Indochine. The twilight setting, with a waterfall-fed spring and mountainous landscape, enhances the poetic quality and the contrast between the women's pale complexions and darker surroundings. Aguttes expert Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier, a long-standing leader in the field, is offering free and confidential appraisals for collectors. This sale underscores the sustained market interest in modern Vietnamese masters, particularly works of this rarity and quality, which have become increasingly sought after by collectors in Asia and beyond.
- Artists: Mai Trung Thứ
- People: Charlotte Aguttes-Reynier
- Auction Houses: Aguttes
- Galleries: Moyon-Avenard Gallery
- Locations: Nantes
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