Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita’s 132nd Birthday

“The reason why I so much enjoy being friends with cats is that they have two different characters: a wild side and a domestic side. This is what makes them interesting,” said Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita. “A cat’s a wild animal, and I like that.”

Born in Tokyo on this day in 1886, Foujita, the son of a Japanese army general,dreamed of becoming a painter in Europe. After graduating from art school in Japan, he relocated to France in 1913, where he befriended various School of Paris luminaries such as Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse, and even studied dance with Isadora Duncan.

Foujita’s first solo exhibition at the prestigious Gallery Chéron in June 1917 sold out quickly. The exhibition consisted of watercolors painted with a fine brush in a distinctive style that blended Eastern and Western influences and finished with a silvery wash.

Celebrated during his lifetime, Foujita received international awards and prominent commissions. His 1930 Book of Cats, featuring 20 etched plate drawings, became one of the most popular cat books ever published. Today, his work can be seen in Kyoto’s National Museum of Modern Art before rotating to the Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris in early 2019.

In 2011 his estate established the Foujita Foundation which carries on his legacy by the supporting artistic projects of young people experiencing difficulties from an interdisciplinary approach while encouraging educational development, cultural openness, and personal fulfillment.

Happy Birthday, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita! 

Special thanks to the Foujita Foundation for their partnership on this project. Below, Carole Boivineau of the Foujita Foundation shares her thoughts on the artist’s legacy and today’s Google Doodle:

Pictured: Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, 1936

Photo credit: Dora Kallmus - Portrait de Foujita au chat 1927 - Reims, musée des Beaux-Arts inv 2014.3.638 (c) Tous droits réservés  

Fifty years after Foujita’s passing, the artist’s legacy lives on. The immense diversity of his work expresses a unique aesthetic fusion, combining the sobriety and admirable precision of Japanese designers with the elegance of the French school. Humorous and beguiling, he was an endearing and enigmatic character, projecting the image of a whimsical dandy. A citizen of the world, his life and work embody openness and modernity beyond conventions and borders.

In keeping with Foujita's affinity for France and his affection for children—despite never being a father himself—Mrs. Kimiyo Foujita bequeathed all the copyrights of her husband’s work to the French foundation Apprentis d'Auteuil, which provides care for children and teens. To maintain this legacy and honor the artist and his wife, the Foujita Foundation was created in 2011 under the umbrella of the Apprentis d'Auteuil.

The Foujita Foundation encourages cultural openness, personal fulfillment, and educational development through the arts. All revenues from copyrights and donations support projects of artistic practices and cultural discovery to promote the education, training, and integration of young people experiencing academic, social, or family difficulties.

Honoring Foujita with this Google Doodle is a great tribute and an opportunity to share his work and his message about the power of the arts.

“Only the power of art can transcend racial frontiers and barriers to penetrate the heart of man. In the friendship between two countries, the most useful exchange is between artists. That’s why I worked every day of my life even though people tend to say: ‘But it’s only a painting!’” —Foujita, 1929