Tsuguharu Foujita, 1886-1968

Painted in 1922, nine years after Foujita’s arrival in Paris, the present work represents an exquisite example of a new technique that the artist had developed during the previous year; what he called the fond blanc. This process was developed according to his desire to explore the possibilities of assimilating his distinctive Japanese draughtsmanship into the exciting painterly developments that were occurring around him in 1920’s Montparnasse. When combined with his elegant fine line drawing this fond blanc creates both a subtle and alluring texturing of the canvas whilst investing his subjects with an ethereality that was wholly new. This haunting and delightfully subtle image, contrasted with the exact, post-cubist text-covered matchbox in the lower right hand corner can thus be seen as exemplary of Foujita’s most assured success in infusing the best elements of his Japanese style into those of the new French oil painting.