Property from a Private Collection, Hong Kong

LÉONARD TSUGUHARU FOUJITA (JAPANESE/FRENCH 1886-1968)
Le Coquelicot et l'abeille
signed and stamped Foujita (lower left)
ink and watercolour on paper laid on silk scroll
sheet: 102.7 x 29.2 cm (40 1/2 x 11 1/2 in)

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Japan
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2020

The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Sylvie Buisson.

Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita was one of the most prominent figures of the School of Paris. He had an outstanding career and achieved unprecedented success as an Asian artist in Europe in the 1920s and subsequently in America and Asia. Foujita is best known for his 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 ink outlines were derived from traditional Japanese visual arts.

The present lot pays homage to Foujita's Japanese heritage. Foujita has painted onto a traditional Japanese scroll and there is a sense of refinement, that can also be seen throughout his entire oeuvre. Japanese culture and traditions always shaped Foujita and his art and he employed certain Japanese materials such as menso (fine brushes), nikawa (animal glue) and sumi (ink). Foujita's needle sharp lines were created with the thinnest type of brush used by traditional Japanese painters, however he created a unique style of strong, yet delicate lines.

Le Coquelicot et l'abeille is a serene and subtle work, achieved by the artist's skillful employment of exquisite brushstrokes and intricate ink brush painting.

* indicates that this Lot has been imported under Temporary Admission.