Pencil, partially blurred on tracing paper
France, 1960
Tsuguharu-Léonard Foujita (1886-1968) – Japanese-French painter and graphic artist
Dated lower center ‘Foujita’
Sheet size: 30.2 x 22.2 cm
Provenance: Estate of the artist
Fine preliminary study for an eponymous oil painting; pencil drawings by Foujita fetch up to €79,000 at international auctions

This work by Tsuguharu Foujita entitled ‘Enfant’ was created in 1960 as a preliminary study for an eponymous oil painting from the same year. It depicts a young girl holding her little brother or sister in her arms. Foujita created numerous drawings of children, mainly girls, of all ages – sometimes alone, sometimes together with their siblings or often in intimate togetherness with their mother. In the present depiction, which features Foujita’s typical loose style of drawing, the artist created a charming allegory of sisterly love.



Literature: Sylvie Buisson, L'ouvrage Léonard Tsughuharui Fouijita, Volume 2, ACR Edition, Courbevoie 2001, no. 60.86, p. 483



The work is signed lower center in pencil ‘Foujita’. It is in good condition. The sheet is trimmed unevenly and mounted under a mat on the upper corners. There is a light yellowish discoloration to the upper half of the image. The sheet measures 30.2 x 22.2 cm, the dimensions of the frame are 44.5 x 40.5 cm.



Tsuguharu-Léonard Foujita (1886-1968)

Tsuguharu-Léonard Foujita (1886-1968) was born in Tokyo, where he studied for three years at the Academy of the Arts. The artist was honoured with numerous medals and prizes and he discovered his preference for contemporary European art during stays in England and France. For this reason he moved to Paris in 1913. There, he met with artists such as Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Fernand Léger, Jean Cocteau, Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso. In the 1920s, when he was at the top of his career, he was regarded even more successful as Picasso, and was praised as the ‘most important artist of all times’, influenced by his eccentric lifestyle amongst other reasons.

Foujita’s works show a combination of traditional Japanese and modern European art. Since the mid-1920s, his works were part of every important exhibition in Paris, Berlin, London and New York. In 1950, Foujita became a citizen of the French state and converted to Catholicism. Among his most important works is the decoration of the chapel Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix in Reims, which he mainly adorned with frescoes of the life of Christ. More of his works are located at the Masakichi Hirano Museum of Fine Arts in Akita for example.

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