The self as a muse: Leonard Foujita's world in paintings and photos
The Japanese-turned-French artist spent his career traveling the globe, creating works that would endear him to the School of Paris at one extreme and brand him a warmonger at the other. He produced paintings — most famously of white women and tabby cats — while cycling through wives, national allegiances and artistic styles as tax collectors and geopolitical events nipped at his heels. Amid the upheaval, Foujita tirelessly pursued the art of self-invention and reinvention.
How did he manage to brand his captivating self image? The exhibition 'Foujita: Painting and Photography' reveals that he had one of modernity's most useful tools at his disposal: the camera. In what's being billed as the first exploration of the artist as a photographer, the show — a decade in the making — presents hundreds of Foujita's paintings and photographs on loan from more than 40 museums and collections.
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