Mai Thu, « La Classe » (The Class), 1955, or the delight of a world without hitch

1955 was a pivotal year for Mai Thu, the painter, the man, and the citizen.

The previous year had been a productive one: the painter exhibited around sixty works at the Galerie de l’Institut in Paris, as well as in Mâcon and Lyon. The man, who lived in Vanves, near Paris, got married. The citizen welcomed the end of the “Indochina War” and the ratification of the “Geneva Accords.”

Having lived in France for 18 years, he balanced his life between his friends (notably Le Pho and Vu Cao Dam), his exhibitions, and his music. His private life was further enriched with the birth of his daughter in 1956.

“The Class” evokes a calligraphy lesson: an elderly teacher and very young students. In his work, Mai Thu often advocated for Confucianism. Notably, unlike many of his fellow students, he did not become involved in the Tự Lực văn đoàn and its modernist ideas in the 1930s.

The master sits in front of his low table, facing the observer in profile. On the table is a pot, which is placed on a pedestal, containing three brushes and a stick. He is dressed and coiffed in the traditional style.

He teaches a group of 14 schoolchildren, who are also dressed and styled in the Vietnamese manner. All of these schoolchildren look alike, especially since the painter uses light gouache tones. Only five shirts differ.

But differences become apparent when you look closely at their faces, observe their hands, and assess their posture. Their attentive, even tense expressions reveal schoolchildren who are aware of the difficulty of their task, afraid of disappointing their teacher and, probably, his severity.

Faces that illustrate the diversity of human emotions, from questioning to concentration, from distraction to unity.

We see that, depending on their distance from the teacher, the schoolchildren fidget, concentrate, or freeze, as shown in the foreground by the small child with his arms crossed and the other two conscientiously preparing their teacher’s tea.

Objects and subjects.

All devoted to the cult of knowledge. We see this in the master and his students. It is easy to see in the books and brushes, even the table and pot. More subtly, it can be seen in the stove, teapot, fan, cup, and saucer, all items used to prepare tea, the master’s stimulant.

The painter focuses on the scene: a neutral background, just a wash. No decor. An almost mineral environment.

As difficult as learning and expressing knowledge.

A beautiful frame by the artist encases his work. Beyond the classic scrolls, he paints two vases filled with flowers, symbols of prosperity and good fortune, and two paired scrolls, one traditionally representing painting and the other calligraphy, thus emphasizing their material and spiritual union.

In this year of 1955, Mai Thu offers us a charming world where the only tension is that of intellectual effort.

Ten years after the end of World War II, he expresses a discreet and tender serenity.

Nonetheless of all these young people, how many will master calligraphy?

It doesn’t matter, says the master. 

In a world without glitches, everything must be pure pleasure.

Jean-François Hubert