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EXHIBITED Paris, Christie's, The Phoenix Glue and the Broken Silk Thread - Important Vietnamese Artworks from the Melchior Dejouany Collection, 8 June - 13 June 2024 FURTHER DETAILS MAI TRUNG THU, "BACK FROM FRUIT PICKING", 1935, OR NO ONE CAN BE DEPRIVED OF NOSTALGIA On October 21, 1930, first class graduand of thee Indochina School of Fine Arts, Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980) was appointed assistant drawing teacher at the Quoc Hoc College in Hue, which became the Khai Dinh High School in 1936. He was there for seven years. His teaching duties did not hinder his career as a painter: By 1935, he had already taken part in the International Colonial Exhibition in Paris (1931), the International Exhibition of Colonial Art in Tripoli (1931), AGINDO (Indochina Economic Agency since 1932) events in Paris, and the Exhibition of Colonial Art in Naples (1932). The year of the artwork, 1935, holds particular significance. Is it possible that Mai Trung Thu, at the time madly in love with one of his students, Phuong, decided to create a portrait of her? No face, yet her stance seems weightless. Subsequent portraits of Phuong unveil a strikingly beautiful young woman, her gaze often cast downward, with two delicate locks framing her face, her hair likely arranged in a bun. In this portrayal, the artist captures graceful and delicate hands, all imbued with the elegance of Hue. One hand clasps the basket with freshly picked fruits - accentuating the sway of her hip — while the other, full of sensual coquetry, grasps her conical hat as if to better conceal her face. A diaphanous atmosphere. But is it really Phuong, or simply a passerby whom he encountered along the banks of the Perfume River? Unaware of the presence of this handsome young man from Tonkin, she seeks shelter from the sun, while the weight of the heavy basket tugs at her hand and brushes against her hip. We'll never know. What Mai Trung Thu does know, is that no one can be deprived of his nostalgia. Jean-François Hubert Senior Expert, Art of Vietnam Conditions of sale Brought to you by Ziwei Yi AVP, Specialist, Head of 20th Century Day Sale 20th/21st Century Art, Asia Pacific ZIWEIYI@CHRISTIES.COM +852 297 86732