Leonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA (1886-1968) - Lot 73

Leonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA (1886-1968) "The birdcage Circa 1955 Mixed media, oil, gouache and tempera on heavy paper Signed lower right "Foujita". H_63 cm W_44 cm (Crackling) A certificate from Madame Sylvie BUISSON will be given to the buyer. We would like to thank Madame Sylvie BUISSON for authenticating this work. The work will be included in the catalog raisonné In a theatrical, clear and joyful setting, a barely veiled window opening onto a sky of infinite lightness, Foujita installs elements chosen from the beauty of Nature and those divine creatures he has always revered, since his childhood in Japan. From the yellow and white touches of twirling spring daisies to the tender greens of the little four-leaf clovers that symbolize good luck, to the charming ballet of birds spreading their multicolored wings, all the music and sweetness of the French way of life is concentrated here like an enchantment. A discreet tricolor ribbon floats, tied at the top of the cage, as a sign of Foujita's joy and great happiness at having received the naturalization he expected from France that year. Like spring and the rebirth of nature, Foujita felt strong. France, freedom and his own rebirth as a painter in Paris were one and the same in his mind as a man and artist in 1955. And if he opens the cage to the birds, it's to tell them that he loves them as free and joyful as he is, that they are worthy of their own wings and capable of guiding him, Foujita, to the end of life. Sylvie Buisson, author of the Catalogue Général Raisonné de l'OEuvre de Léonard Foujita, Foujita's expert at the Union Française des Experts en objets d'art.