Tsuguharu Foujita

Tsuguharu Foujita was a Japanese-French painter and printmaker who applied Japanese ink techniques to Western style paintings. He was born in Tokyo in 1886 and graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1910. He moved to Paris in 1913, where he became a prominent figure in the Montparnasse neighborhood and befriended artists such as Picasso, Modigliani, and Matisse. He was known for his delicate and elegant depictions of nudes, cats, and self-portraits, often using a milky white background. He also experimented with printmaking, creating etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs. He was a member of the School of Paris, a group of now-famous artists who resided in the city and influenced the modern art movement. He achieved commercial success and fame in the 1920s, exhibiting his works in Europe, America, and Japan. He traveled extensively throughout his life, visiting South America, North Africa, and Asia. He returned to Japan in 1933 and became an official war artist during World War II, producing propaganda paintings that glorified the Japanese military. He also received the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor. After the war, he faced criticism and hostility from the public for his involvement in the war effort. He left Japan again in 1950 and settled in France, where he received French citizenship in 1955 and converted to Catholicism in 1959. He devoted his later years to creating frescoes for a small chapel in Reims, which he designed and built himself. He died of leukemia in Zurich in 1968, shortly after the chapel was inaugurated. He was buried in Reims, next to the chapel. Foujita is regarded as one of the most important Japanese artists working in the West during the 20th century. His works are held in many museums and collections around the world, and he has been the subject of several retrospective exhibitions.