LÉONARD TSUGUHARU FOUJITA | La Petite Cuisinière

Tajan, Paris, 10 December 1996, Lot 27
Important Private Asian Collection 

Sylvie & Dominique Buisson, ed., Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita Vol. II, ACR Edition, Paris, 2001, plate 57.117, p. 46

The work is overall in good and its original condition, Upon very close inspection, there are extremely minor signs of hairline craquelure in scattered places, all of which appear to be in stable condition. Examination under UV light reveals no sign of restoration.
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In 1950, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita returned to Paris after a two-decade long absence. World War II had just ended, and Paris, hailed as the world’s artistic and cultural hub, suffered devastating damage. Amid the depressed atmosphere after the war, poets, writers and painters explored the meaning of existence through their respective art form. Foujita eschewed the air of gloom and the uncertainty, and instead channeled his hopes for a more peaceful world, which he found in the innocence of children in his art. The subject of his paintings turned away from the sensual beauty of the female body, which has been a favorite before the war, toward the purity and innocence of children. In the upcoming evening sale, both Les deux soeurs (Lot 1025) and La Petite Cuisinière (Lot 1026) came from Foujita’s “second Parisian period” upon the artist’s return to Europe. Les deux soeurs: A Revival of Tenderness in Modern Times

In “a painting within a painting” composition characteristic of Foujita’s works, Les deux soeurs depicts two sisters in the foreground and on the wall in the background a poster shows a young woman on a swing in a poster. In the foreground, the younger sister lies on her older sibling’s lap, peacefully asleep, while the latter sits elegantly, her facial expression calm and gentle. The elder sister cradles the younger one’s head in one hand while stroking the younger sister’s back with the other. The pyramid shape references a popular composition in the Renaissance period’s prime, creating a classical elegance and sense of stability in the present work. The inspiration of this composition is very likely to come from Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of The Rocks, in which the Madonna gently embraces the infant John the Baptist. When Foujita converted to Catholicism in late 1950s, he chose the name Leonardo. It was not only a tribute to Da Vinci, but also a reflection of Foujita’s desire to seek philosophical, spiritual salvation after experiencing as well as witnessing the hardships of war and turmoil. While drawing references from the classics, Foujita also employed the classical Japanese painting technique yamato-e, with intimately detailed lines that highlights the innocent tenderness between the two sisters. Such a treatment is simultaneously delicate and elegant, as well as a display of his personal style.

In the poster on the wall, the depiction of the young woman exudes tranquility. Her cheeks are flushed and her clothing glamorous, with an elaborate feather headdress. For “a painting within a painting,” this poster is intricately detailed, and its composition echoes the eighteenth century Rococo masterpiece The Swing, an epitome of the genre by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Against the dreaminess and delight conveyed through the innocence and elegance in the foreground, this perhaps reveals the artist’s nostalgia toward a bygone Parisian period filled with worldly enjoyment.  Jeune fille dans l’atelier de l’artiste, another “painting within a painting" by the same artist, was sold for more than 6 million Hong Kong dollars in the 2018 Spring sale, an exceptional achievement that bodes well for the current lot.

Foujita often depicts sisters standing side by side, one in front of the other, or in seated positions. The present lot, in contrast, displays an exceptional, vivid tenderness and its composition combines the mastery of the Renaissance, Rococo and yamato-e, seamlessly incorporating classical art formats into modern painting, a rare and extraordinary achievement.

La Petite Cuisinière：A Virtual Domain of Reality

Foujita did not have any children, yet it was children from whom he found a pure spirit that embodied all the simplicity and joy he would pursue in his later life. In La Petite Cuisinière, the artist intentionally chose what might be an ordinary subject to create a virtual reality of beauty and elegance. The girl sits upright, slightly turning to one side, engaged in the simple act of peeling potatoes. This is depicted in the present lot, referencing ideas and artistic concepts from seventeenth century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer, who observed sublime beauty in daily life. At one point in 1930s, Foujita traveled to South America, where he was profoundly influenced by Mexican art, especially the works of Diego Rivera, and thus began bolder explorations of color combinations. Similar to the brilliant hues of red and blue Les deux soeurs, the present lot employs pink, pastel green, light blue, pale yellow, and gold. Together the colors present a fantastical fairground in which the virtual and the real bloom, and dreamlike colors meet and mingle.

In the background, in what appears to be a kitchen, two round-shaped cooking pots hang on the wall, and the scene is filled with a sense of everyday living. A background composition filled with a sense of everyday living was another key feature of Foujita’s art. La Petite Cuisinière represents painting and life combined once again in the artist’s later years, conveying the artist’s reverence for an uncomplicated ideal life, and an irrepressible passion in life within a serene setting. This work is an invaluable addition to any collection.



The authenticity of the artwork has been confirmed by Sylvie Buisson