- 191
Tsuguharu Foujita
Estimate
70,000 - 90,000 USD
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Description
- Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita
- Les Volubilis
- Signed Foujita and in Japanese (lower left); signed Foujita, dated 1922 and inscribed Paris (on the verso)
- Gouache, brush and ink and gold leaf on paper
- 11 1/8 by 7 5/8 in.
- 28.2 by 19.4 cm
Provenance
Private Collection
Sale: Skinner, Inc., Boston, September 16, 2005, lot 752
Clarke Galleries, Newburyport, Massachusetts
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Sale: Skinner, Inc., Boston, September 16, 2005, lot 752
Clarke Galleries, Newburyport, Massachusetts
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Literature
Sylvie Buisson, T.L. Foujita: inédits, Paris, 2007, no. C.22.024.A, illustrated p. 107
Condition
Executed on cream coloured wove paper. The top and right edges are deckled and the left and bottom ones appear to have been cut. The sheet it attached to the mat with two hinges to the reverse of the upper left and upper right corners. The pigment is fresh and strong. There may be minor losses and rubbing to the gold pigment but not obvious. There is minor handling creasing to the top right edge. The work is in excellent condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Tsuguharu Foujita, known as Léonard in his adopted country of France, was born in Tokyo and took his initial instruction as a painter at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1905. It was not until 1913 that Foujita first traveled to Paris and became acquainted with many of the foremost painters of the twentieth century, including Picasso, Modigliani and Soutine. Alongside them he swiftly became a leading member of the École de Paris, and his highly original style brought him to public attention.
Les Volubilis belongs to a series of gouaches Foujita executed over gold leaf in the 1920s. The highly realistic flowers seem to float on a scintillating gold background, recalling both Renaissance aesthetics as well as the beautiful Kano school gilded screens that became immensely popular with the aristocratic class in the 15th and 16th centuries. While these screens could feature figures and scenes of nature, the still life was a genre almost unknown in Japan. In his innovative way, Foujita has painted a Western subject with decisive allusions to traditional Japanese art (see fig. 1).
Les Volubilis belongs to a series of gouaches Foujita executed over gold leaf in the 1920s. The highly realistic flowers seem to float on a scintillating gold background, recalling both Renaissance aesthetics as well as the beautiful Kano school gilded screens that became immensely popular with the aristocratic class in the 15th and 16th centuries. While these screens could feature figures and scenes of nature, the still life was a genre almost unknown in Japan. In his innovative way, Foujita has painted a Western subject with decisive allusions to traditional Japanese art (see fig. 1).