Jeune fille assise

Throughout his European career, Foujita was part of the major modernist movements, becoming one of the most prominent figures of the School of Paris. Yet, he never broke away from a very personal and distinctive approach, a fusion of two artistic traditions consistent with his Japanese origins and interest in the classicism of the great Western masters. Foujita's reputation rests predominantly on work in Western genres, his recurrent themes being the female nude, cats, children, and self-portraits. However, his lack of interest in perspective and fondness for sinuous, black outlines were derived from traditional Japanese visual arts.

The present work was executed during the second period of Foujita's life in Paris, in the 1950s. Foujita shifted his focus from the sensual nudes of the 1920s and 1930s to works featuring children and young women endowed with grace and also a sense of shyness. In the present work, Foujita's adolescent girl is innocent and dreamy, her large eyes meditatively cast downwards. A charming depiction of youth, it also possesses the elegance characteristic of a traditional European portrait, portrayed most notably in the model's posture and placement of her hands. Foujita's drawing is incredibly assured, his lines with exemplary calligraphic finesse. The delicacy of this drawing conveys both the vitality of the model and the finest details of her appearance.