The museum recently launched a special exhibition titled Endlessly Growing Roots, featuring this exceptional piece for the first time.

According to art researcher Ace Le, among the “Four Masters in Europe,” Mai Trung Thu is often recognized as the most deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture, consistently striving to preserve national identity through his multidisciplinary work.

His art is known for its strong cultural essence, often reinterpreting iconic Western works through a Vietnamese lens.

Mai Trung Thu created three variations inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The final and most refined version, painted in 1974 when he was 68 years old, was executed with gouache on silk, maintaining the original’s proportions while infusing it with Vietnamese spirit.

This 1974 piece stands out as the most complete of the three versions produced over three decades. His rendition features a Vietnamese woman wearing a soft green voile scarf, with deeper yellow tones in her skin to emphasize Vietnamese identity. The background depicts a sunset over Ha Long Bay, one of Vietnam’s most iconic landscapes.

“This transformation symbolizes a woman who has lived through significant events. When Mai Trung Thu painted women, they became emblems of Vietnamese identity that he tirelessly sought to express through art,” Ace Le shared.

Speaking to VietNamNet, Miss Phuong Khanh expressed her delight at witnessing in person the work of a Vietnamese painter who left a mark on the international art scene. She viewed the exhibition as a beacon for contemporary Vietnamese art and hoped more young people would bring Vietnamese cultural elements and styles to broader audiences.

At age 96, director and writer Xuan Phuong arrived in a wheelchair to view the painting. Having lived through two national wars and witnessed pivotal moments in Vietnam’s history, she was deeply moved by the artwork. Still passionately engaged in creativity through filmmaking and literature, she remains dedicated to Vietnamese art and cultural heritage.

The exhibition also features works by other iconic Vietnamese artists, including Le Pho, Le Thi Luu, To Ngoc Van, and Vu Cao Dam - all of whom made significant contributions to the formative years of Vietnamese fine arts.

The exhibition officially opened to the public on August 1.