Lê Phô, Mai-Thu, Vu Cao Dam: pioneers of modern Vietnamese art at the Musée Cernuschi, photos

After an exhibition devoted to Japanese prints, the Musée Cernuschi turns its attention to Vietnamese art, and more specifically to the modern art of three great pioneers of the genre. From October 11, 2024 to March 9, 2025, discover the work of Lê Phô (1907-2001), Mai-Thu (1906-1980) and Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000) in a brand-new exhibition.

Billed as the first major retrospective in France devoted to these three pioneers of modern Vietnamese art, the exhibition brings together 150 of their works from 25 different collections (various funds, public or private lenders, the artists' families, close friends...).

It's an opportunity to discover the careers of these three friends, from their training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Hanoi, in their native country, to the end of their long careers in France from 1937. Vietnam and France: two countries that the three artists loved equally.

Whether Lê Phô, Mai-Thu or Vu Cao Dam, the three painters drew inspiration from the political changes and relations between the two countries throughout the 20th century to create and give birth to numerous works. These works can be admired through a chronological tour divided into three phases: from Hanoi's Beaux-arts to Paris in the 30s, from the seductions of artistic Paris to the tumult of war, then the French period, with an evolution of the three styles.

• To be read
• Art and culture: 10 not-to-be-missed exhibitions for the start of the 2024 academic year in Paris and the Île-de-France region
• Not-to-be-missed autumn 2024 exhibitions in Paris and the Île-de-France region
• Painting exhibitions: not-to-be-missed events in Paris and Île-de-France at the moment

Aimed at Asian art enthusiasts, painting lovers and the simply curious, this original exhibition is an opportunity to learn more about the lives and careers of these three artists through a selection of old photographs, drawings and sketches, videos and lacquered screens, as well as several plaster and bronze sculptures by Vu Cao Dam.

But this installation, on view from October 11, 2024 to March 9, 2025, also features a large series of paintings on silk andoils on canvas. For example, there's this imposing oil on canvas by Lê Phô. Entitled"La Maison familiale au Tonkin", this work was exhibited at the Salon des artistes français in Paris in the early 1930s, before moving to the Cité universitaire de Paris. Further on, the emotion is felt when discovering an oil painting by Mai-Thu depicting a mother carrying the naked corpse of her child. This work was painted for himself, he explains, as an outlet for his pain.

The backdrop to this exhibition is the stormy political relationship between France and Vietnam, and the wars between the two countries. These three artists are distinguished by their choice to pursue their careers in France. If their adventure continued in France by choice, it also continued because of the tumult of the war that raged on both sides of the continent, between 1939 and 1975.

This installation is also an opportunity to take a closer look at their techniques and materials, drawn from both Western and Asian traditions (Vietnamese lacquer painting and Vietnamese silk painting).

To discover the exhibition"Lê Phô, Mai-Thu, Vu Cao Dam. Pioneers of Modern Vietnamese Art in France", visit the Musée Cernuschi from October 11, 2024 to March 9, 2025.

Musée Cernuschi: the free museum, the jewel of Asian arts in Paris
The Musée Cernuschi is the museum of Asian arts in Paris, tracing the history of the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese peoples since Neolithic times. The collection includes works acquired by the city, including 5,000 bequeathed by Henri Cernuschi in the 19th century. The museum's centerpiece is a large bronze Buddha, which dominates the immense, high-ceilinged hall housing the permanent collections. [Read more]