Painter Tsuguharu Foujita was born November 27, 1886, in Tokyo. He passed away January 29, 1968. His baptismal name was Léonard Foujita.
His father was an army surgeon, and on the advice of his superior, Mori Ogai, he entered the Western Painting Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. After graduating in 2010, he married Tomiko Tokita, but soon left her behind to study in Paris. He then set up a studio in Montparnasse, a popular artistic district, and pursued his own unique style while interacting with artists such as Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Clemente Modigliani.
In 1922, Foujita exhibited a nude at the Salon d'Automne art exhibition. The painting, with its thin outlines drawn with a brush and ink, and especially the lustrous skin of the woman depicted, were highly praised by the judges. All six of Foujita's works won awards, and his nude paintings were highly praised for their "milky skin." In 1925, the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor as a representative painter of Paris at the time.
In 1929, he returned to Japan and held exhibitions throughout Japan. While his works were a great success, the Japanese art world reacted coldly to them. This is said to be due to Foujita's repeated marriages and divorces, and his eccentric behavior at parties earned him the nickname "Fu-Fu" (a playful person). However, there may also have been a small amount of jealousy towards Foujita's success in Paris. Furthermore, due to the economic downturn caused by the Great Depression, his works no longer sold as they had in Paris. Foujita separated from his third wife, Lucie Badou, and embarked on a sketching trip to South America. This led to a gradual shift in his style to a more colorful one.
After returning to Japan in the 1930s, he married his fifth wife, Kimiyo. From then on, he began to base his activities in Japan. When World War II broke out in 1939, he served in the Japanese military under orders, producing numerous war paintings. In 1943, he exhibited "The Suicide Attack on Attu Island" at the "Battle Art Exhibition" held at the Ueno Museum of Art. Many people flocked to the museum every day to see the painting.
However, after the war, Foujita faced harsh criticism as a war collaborator. Called a traitor, he no longer had a place in Japan, and in 1950 he emigrated to Paris. He obtained French citizenship and would spend the rest of his life there.
Raf Simons' Jil Sander 10 Spring/Summer men's collection was themed around Foujita. Models with his trademark glasses and mushroom cut haircuts appeared, and illustrations evocative of Foujita were also used as print motifs.
