Foujita. Painting, photography and cats

The exhibition explores the relationship between painting and photography in the work of Japanese-French artist Tsuguharu Foujita. Born in Tokyo in 1886, Foujita rose to prominence in 1920s Paris as a central figure of the École de Paris, alongside Modigliani, Soutine, and other key players in the international avant-garde. The show focuses on three main themes: the construction of his public image through painting and photography, the use of photography as a preparatory tool for his paintings, and his independent photographic practice. The first section examines the creation of Foujita’s personal iconography: bobbed hair, thin moustache, round glasses, and cats are recurring elements in both his paintings and photographic portraits, reinforcing his recognizability among the European public. The second part places photographs and paintings side by side to reveal how the artist used the camera to compose and study subjects and settings. In many cases, the photographs served as direct visual models for later works, especially in landscapes and portraits. The final section presents a selection of photographs taken by Foujita himself between the 1930s and 1950s with his inseparable Leica: urban and domestic scenes that document his travels across Europe, Latin America, China, and Japan, offering an intimate and personal view of his photographic sensibility. The exhibition stands out for the richness of the material on display, particularly the number of original photographic prints never before shown in Japan, alongside paintings from French and Japanese museums and private collections. As a whole, the exhibition offers a reinterpretation of Foujita’s work, highlighting his ability to operate consciously across multiple expressive levels, in a constant dialogue between public image, pictorial representation, and photographic vision.