Léonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA

Japanese-French　1886 - 1968

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita was born in Japan, notable for his pure exquisite fine lines and snowy skins represented in his paintings, Foujita was regarded as the most celebrated Japanese artist resided in France of the 20th century. Foujita entered Western Painting department of the Tokyo Arts Academy when he was eighteen, and was taught by Kuroda Seiki. One of Foujita’s watercolor paintings was selected for the Paris World Expo exhibition in 1900, 13 years later, Foujita decided to study in Paris. Not long after his arrival, Foujita befriended with “the outsiders” artists of France, such as Pablo Picasso, Moïse Kisling, Marc Chagall, whom were active in the surroundings of Montparnasse, they were referred as the artists of the Ecole de Paris.