Artists

Artists > Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita

Artworks

A Girl in the Studio, 1951, oil on canvas, 35 X 27 cm
The Girl with Flower, 1963, oil on canvas, 35 X 24 cm
Three cats,1932, natural pigment on paper, 69.5 X 88.6 cm
Cat, 1924, oil on canvas, 91 X 72.7 cm
Flea Market in Paris,1950, oil on canvas, 27 X 22 cm
Mother and Child,1951, water color on paper, 16.8 X 22.5 cm
Child Portrait , 1951, oil on canvas, 18 X 14 cm
Cat and the Girl, 1951, water color on paper, 47.5 X 65.2 cm

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968)

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita was born on November 27, 1886 in Tokyo, Japan. He went on to study at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1910.After his move to Paris in 1913, Foujita met and became friends with prominent avant-garde artists of the day such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, and Chaïm Soutine. During the 1910s, Foujita participated in the bohemian cultural community/ society in Montparnasse, Paris. His personal charm, as well as his representational paintings often depicting himself, cats, and women found immediate attention and success in Paris despite having no connections beforehand.

In 1919 and 1920, six works of Foujita were selected in the Salon d'Automne. He was highly praised for his delicate lines of the female body, and the milky white color that was an original feature in terms of style. Blending the traditional Ukio-e style and the Parisian Modernism into his own way of expression, Foujita was able to assure his position as an international artist. He died on January 29, 1968 in Zürich, Switzerland at the age of 81.

Timeline

1886　　Born in Tokyo, Japan. His father is an army doctor; his mother is the daughter of a “bakufu” official.
1910　　Graduates from the Western course of painting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
1913　　Arrives in France, and settles in the artists` community “Montparnasse” in Paris. There he becomes acquainted with Picasso, Modigliani, and Sutine.
1919　　All of his six works showed in Salon d'Automne are selected, leading to his rise of fame.
1920　　Participates in Salon d'Automne as an official member, and shows six works of his nudes, cats, and self-portraits. From here on, Foujita starts to develop his most famous 　　　　white painting series.
1921　　Three paintings showed in Salon d'Automne are appraised as “the ultimate white (grand fond blanc)”. With the combination of East and West in his unique expression, 　　　　Foujita reassures his position in the Paris art scene.
1931　　Starts a three-years travel around the world, including Cuba, South America, the west coast of the U.S, and China. During this time, Foujita continues to create and exhibit works.
1934　　Holds his first solo exhibition in galerie nichido in Ginza, Japan. Since then, Foujita continues to show his work in the same gallery.
1942　　Appointed as military painter by the Japanese government during the war, and is ordered to make and exhibit military paintings in Japan.
1949　　Appointed as art professor under Brooklyn Art Museum, and goes to New York. This journey softens the harsh criticism towards him in Japan after the War. However, 　　　　Foujita always hopes to go back to France.
1950　　Travels to Paris from New York, and settles permanently in rue Campagne-Première, Montparnasse.
1967　　Receives the Legion of Honour from the French government.
1959　　Becomes French citizen in 1957 and converts to Catholic at Notre-Dame de Reim (Reims Cathedral) with the baptismal name Leonard to commemorate the artist Leonardda 　　　　Vinci. At the same year, Foujita contributes his work "Holy mother and child" to the church, and devoted himself to creating religious paintings.
1968　　Dies of cancer on January 29, 1968, in Zürich, Switzerland.