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Lot Essay
DRAWING BETWEEN THE LINES
Indisputably one of the best painters in France and Japan during the 20th Century, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita is well acclaimed across Europe, America and Asia. He graduated from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and studied oil painting under the tutelage of Seiki Kuroda. His works were exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in Paris and he became a core member of the School of Paris in the 1920s. His buoyant character has made him a popular figure in the Parisian art community and he soon befriended artistic luminaries like Modigliani and Picasso, as well as sought-after models of the time. This season we are pleased to present an array of paintings, works on paper and prints by Foujita including works from his early French period and Japanese period. Part of the works on paper came from the private collection of his wife Foujita Kimiyo.
'I make straight and sinuous lines bounce and cross. Lines enable me to describe objects with exaggerated forms, confirm my inspiration, deformation or perspective. The painter can freely erase or add lines. There, is the art of lines, with which one surprises the others or achieves a deep beauty never equal.' FOUJITA
THE SACRED GOLD LEAF PAINTING
Gold leaf painting is a rare series of work from Foujita's oeuvre, appearing only in the 1910s and 1950s. The medium was mainly applied on works with religious subject, demonstrating its unique importance to Foujita and its saintly sacredness. Leading the series of Foujita's works in our Day Sale is the 1918 Innocence et Réalité (Innocence and Reality) (Lot 520). It is one of his rare completed early works on paper. The central cursive line has aptly divided the composition into two parts vertically. The abstract cave-like black field of lower half acts as a supporting background to the two figures. Together with the sleeping infant and the guarding horses, we are reminded of the Nativity, a classic medieval painting genre. Under the influence of his friend Riichiro Kawashima, Foujita became fascinated by ancient Greek culture and took artistic inspiration from it. The present work was once in the collection of renowned collector Mr. & Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson, and it was exhibited in America and Japan. This is the first time that it appears in auction.
THE UNIQUENESS OF NUDES IN IVORY WHITE
Although Foujita was inspired by Western painting, he hardly placed any emphasis on the treatment of light and shadow. Instead, he was more concerned with the delicate gradation casted by shadow and the depiction of human figure and texture. By utilising traditional Japanese painting materials such as mensō (fine brushes), nikawa (animal glue) and sumi (ink), he produces an ivory white unprecedented in Western art history. This distinct colour was termed as le grand fond blanc in French. Another masterpiece being offered this time, Les Deux Amies (Two Friends) (Lot 522), was created in 1926 when Foujita was in Paris. Ivory white paired with grey shadows invoke a sculptural impression to the figures. In addition, Foujita applied oil paint with white mother-of-pearl powder, giving the work a silky glaze, with a smooth texture and a light translucency unseen of in oil painting.
'Foujita's mastery of drawing refined lines on a flawlessly ivory white canvas and his depiction of shadow in a non-material form created a pure and mysterious form of art...' PAUL MORAND
Les Deux Amies (Two Friends) is a double portrait of Kiki on the left and Youki on the right, of which the portrayal is seemingly Foujita's interpretation of the two important muses in his life. Foujita's private relationship with Kiki and Youki constructs a unique mood of the figurative painting. It is not only the nude bodies are portrayed, but also the authentic spirit connecting to Foujita. Alice Ernestine Prin, nicknamed Queen of Montparnasse, and often known as Kiki de Montparnasse, was a French artist's model, actress, memoirist, and painter. Her charismatic existence helped define the liberated culture of Paris in the 1920s. Kiki was also a popular artist's model, posing for dozens of artists, including Sanyu, Chaim Soutine, Pablo Gargallo, Man Ray, etc. In 1921, Foujita met a young lady named Lucie Badoud. For the following decade, she lived as his muse, lover and wife, inspiring some of the most sensual and striking paintings that the artist ever produced. Foujita fell in love with Badoud deeply and the couple disappeared from the Montparnasse district in Paris for three days, spending time together, the young and joyful Belgian orphan, Lucie nicknamed 'Youki' ("snow" in Japanese) given by Foujita for her flawless skin. In no time, Foujita and Youki settled in a luxurious apartment in the rich 16th arrondissement in Paris and would become one of the most famous couple of what was called 'Les Années Folles'. The two female nudes, Kiki and Youki, one blonde and one brunette, appear to be westerners yet symbolising both the east and the west, integrating the features of two distinct cultures.
A CHALLENGE TO THE CONVENTIONAL COLOUR SYSTEM
Nu Endormi (Sleeping Lady) (Lot 521) is another exquisitely elegant piece created during Foujita's Japanese period. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Foujita was forced to leave Paris and move back to Japan and stayed till 1950 before he returned to France again. During this period, he gradually shifted from monotone nudes to more narrative and colourful compositions. In terms of colour scheme, Nu Endormi (Sleeping Lady) is a rare piece in Foujita's oeuvre. Devoid of the usual fair and white tone, the girl's face is painted in silver grey, bronze and black. The dark colour scheme was his experiment in a new field and it created an unexpected effect, bringing the viewer into a tranquil and mysterious world as the girl entering her dream. Foujita's exquisite treatment to clothing and textile also gives the canvas a different layer and diversified colour combination, which is extremely rare in Foujita's works.
THE SIMPLICITY OF LINEAR CONTINUITY
Foujita's drawings portraying women demonstrated his deft skill and artistic cultivation. A series of five works on paper including Femme de Profil (Profile of a Woman) (Lot 523) and Nu Debout (Standing Nude) (Lot 524) came from the private collection of Foujita's wife Foujita Kimiyo. They also formed the cornerstone of several celebrated paintings, each carrying important historical meaning. Through seemingly simple strokes, Foujita imbues the nuances of his inner emotions and the subject matter onto the drawings, demonstrating the capacity of lines to express delicate affections and thoughts. Even among other artists who inherited the Asian linear aestheticism, Foujita's skill remains unrivalled.
Indisputably one of the best painters in France and Japan during the 20th Century, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita is well acclaimed across Europe, America and Asia. He graduated from the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and studied oil painting under the tutelage of Seiki Kuroda. His works were exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in Paris and he became a core member of the School of Paris in the 1920s. His buoyant character has made him a popular figure in the Parisian art community and he soon befriended artistic luminaries like Modigliani and Picasso, as well as sought-after models of the time. This season we are pleased to present an array of paintings, works on paper and prints by Foujita including works from his early French period and Japanese period. Part of the works on paper came from the private collection of his wife Foujita Kimiyo.
'I make straight and sinuous lines bounce and cross. Lines enable me to describe objects with exaggerated forms, confirm my inspiration, deformation or perspective. The painter can freely erase or add lines. There, is the art of lines, with which one surprises the others or achieves a deep beauty never equal.' FOUJITA
THE SACRED GOLD LEAF PAINTING
Gold leaf painting is a rare series of work from Foujita's oeuvre, appearing only in the 1910s and 1950s. The medium was mainly applied on works with religious subject, demonstrating its unique importance to Foujita and its saintly sacredness. Leading the series of Foujita's works in our Day Sale is the 1918 Innocence et Réalité (Innocence and Reality) (Lot 520). It is one of his rare completed early works on paper. The central cursive line has aptly divided the composition into two parts vertically. The abstract cave-like black field of lower half acts as a supporting background to the two figures. Together with the sleeping infant and the guarding horses, we are reminded of the Nativity, a classic medieval painting genre. Under the influence of his friend Riichiro Kawashima, Foujita became fascinated by ancient Greek culture and took artistic inspiration from it. The present work was once in the collection of renowned collector Mr. & Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson, and it was exhibited in America and Japan. This is the first time that it appears in auction.
THE UNIQUENESS OF NUDES IN IVORY WHITE
Although Foujita was inspired by Western painting, he hardly placed any emphasis on the treatment of light and shadow. Instead, he was more concerned with the delicate gradation casted by shadow and the depiction of human figure and texture. By utilising traditional Japanese painting materials such as mensō (fine brushes), nikawa (animal glue) and sumi (ink), he produces an ivory white unprecedented in Western art history. This distinct colour was termed as le grand fond blanc in French. Another masterpiece being offered this time, Les Deux Amies (Two Friends) (Lot 522), was created in 1926 when Foujita was in Paris. Ivory white paired with grey shadows invoke a sculptural impression to the figures. In addition, Foujita applied oil paint with white mother-of-pearl powder, giving the work a silky glaze, with a smooth texture and a light translucency unseen of in oil painting.
'Foujita's mastery of drawing refined lines on a flawlessly ivory white canvas and his depiction of shadow in a non-material form created a pure and mysterious form of art...' PAUL MORAND
Les Deux Amies (Two Friends) is a double portrait of Kiki on the left and Youki on the right, of which the portrayal is seemingly Foujita's interpretation of the two important muses in his life. Foujita's private relationship with Kiki and Youki constructs a unique mood of the figurative painting. It is not only the nude bodies are portrayed, but also the authentic spirit connecting to Foujita. Alice Ernestine Prin, nicknamed Queen of Montparnasse, and often known as Kiki de Montparnasse, was a French artist's model, actress, memoirist, and painter. Her charismatic existence helped define the liberated culture of Paris in the 1920s. Kiki was also a popular artist's model, posing for dozens of artists, including Sanyu, Chaim Soutine, Pablo Gargallo, Man Ray, etc. In 1921, Foujita met a young lady named Lucie Badoud. For the following decade, she lived as his muse, lover and wife, inspiring some of the most sensual and striking paintings that the artist ever produced. Foujita fell in love with Badoud deeply and the couple disappeared from the Montparnasse district in Paris for three days, spending time together, the young and joyful Belgian orphan, Lucie nicknamed 'Youki' ("snow" in Japanese) given by Foujita for her flawless skin. In no time, Foujita and Youki settled in a luxurious apartment in the rich 16th arrondissement in Paris and would become one of the most famous couple of what was called 'Les Années Folles'. The two female nudes, Kiki and Youki, one blonde and one brunette, appear to be westerners yet symbolising both the east and the west, integrating the features of two distinct cultures.
A CHALLENGE TO THE CONVENTIONAL COLOUR SYSTEM
Nu Endormi (Sleeping Lady) (Lot 521) is another exquisitely elegant piece created during Foujita's Japanese period. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Foujita was forced to leave Paris and move back to Japan and stayed till 1950 before he returned to France again. During this period, he gradually shifted from monotone nudes to more narrative and colourful compositions. In terms of colour scheme, Nu Endormi (Sleeping Lady) is a rare piece in Foujita's oeuvre. Devoid of the usual fair and white tone, the girl's face is painted in silver grey, bronze and black. The dark colour scheme was his experiment in a new field and it created an unexpected effect, bringing the viewer into a tranquil and mysterious world as the girl entering her dream. Foujita's exquisite treatment to clothing and textile also gives the canvas a different layer and diversified colour combination, which is extremely rare in Foujita's works.
THE SIMPLICITY OF LINEAR CONTINUITY
Foujita's drawings portraying women demonstrated his deft skill and artistic cultivation. A series of five works on paper including Femme de Profil (Profile of a Woman) (Lot 523) and Nu Debout (Standing Nude) (Lot 524) came from the private collection of Foujita's wife Foujita Kimiyo. They also formed the cornerstone of several celebrated paintings, each carrying important historical meaning. Through seemingly simple strokes, Foujita imbues the nuances of his inner emotions and the subject matter onto the drawings, demonstrating the capacity of lines to express delicate affections and thoughts. Even among other artists who inherited the Asian linear aestheticism, Foujita's skill remains unrivalled.