ExhibitionsLéonard Foujita

Léonard Foujita

This retrospective exhibition commemorating the 120th anniversary of the birth of Tsuguharu　Léonard Foujita (1866-1968) follows the entire career of the painter with 100 works, which are brought together from both within Japan as well as from countries including France and Belgium, and includes large murals and 20 works to be shown in Japan for the first time. It covers the early period, when Foujita mingled with the painters of the Ecole de Paris and became the darling of the Paris art circle with his specialty of nudes with “milk-white skin”; the middle period, when he shifted to a representative style after returning to Japan from a trip to Central and South America, participated in the Nika-kai, and reached a peak with war paintings; and the final period, when he returned to Paris again via New York after the war, and created unique paintings with religious themes and children using thin, delicate lines.

About the “Léonard Foujita” exhibition at MOMAK

Self-Portrait in the Studio (1926) Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
©Kimiyo Foujita & SPDA, Tokyo, 2005
©Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon-Photo Alain Basset

Related Events
Summer Night Concert: “Everybody Loved Paris!”
Performance: Kyoto City University of Arts Faculty of Music
Date: June 3 (Sat.) 6:00PM-
Place: 1F lobby; free

International Symposium: “Paris, les années vingt et Foujita” Day One
Date: June 10 (Sat.) 1:00PM-
Place: Lecture hall (maximum capacity 100); free (reservation required)
* Mostly in Japanese only, one lecture in French.
* Day Two will be held on June 11 at Kyoto University of Art and Design.

Lecture: “Tsuguharu Léonard Foujita: A Life as a ‘Foreigner’”
Lecturer: KONDO Fumito (NHK Educational)
Date: June 24 (Sat.) 2:00PM- (numbered tickets distributed 1:00PM-)
Place: Lecture hall (maximum capacity 100); free
* In Japanese only.

Lecture: “Tsuguharu Léonard Foujita and the Kansai Region”
Lecturer: YAMANO Hidetsugu (MOMAK)
Date: July 1 (Sat.) 2:00PM- (numbered tickets distributed 1:00PM-)
Place: Lecture hall (maximum capacity 100); free
* In Japanese only.

Exhibition Dates: Tuesday, May 30 - Sunday, July 23, 2006; Closed on Mondays (exception: open on July 17, closed on July 18)
Organizers: The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; NHK Kyoto Station; NHK Kinki Media Plan, Inc.; Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.; The Kyoto Shimbun Co., Ltd.
Endorsement: Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ambassade de France au Japon; Kyoto Prefecture; Kyoto City; Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education; Kyoto City Board of Education
Sponsorship: Aioi Insurance Co., Ltd.; Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.; Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Collaboration: DNP ARCHIVES.COM Co., Ltd.; Japan Airlines; JAPAN POST Kinki Regional Office
Admission: * Admission is free for visitors in junior high and younger, as well as visitors with disabilities. Please display appropriate identification on entry.; Advance tickets: Ticket Pia, FamilyMart, 7 Eleven, Circle K Sankus (P code: 686-530), Lawson (L code: 57170), ampm, “Midori-no-madoguchi” ticket windows at major West JR stations (Kinki region)
About the “Léonard Foujita” exhibition at MOMAK: There have been, of course, a number of exhibitions in the past featuring Foujita’s works in the Kansai area alone.; For instance, the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art held the “Hommage à Léonard Foujita” exhibition in 1968, and the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern Art (the present Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art) held the “Era of Foujita” exhibition in 1975. Additional Foujita exhibitions were held at the Takashimaya and Daimaru department stores in Osaka, as well as the Daimaru in Kyoto. However, while these exhibitions did feature several of Foujita’s important works, they were not retrospective exhibitions that overview the entirety of Foujita’s artistic career.; It would not be an exaggeration to say that the present exhibition, commemorating the 120th anniversary of his birth, is the long-awaited first opportunity to look back on the footsteps of Foujita’s career.; Here in Kyoto, we have selected “gold” as the base color of the exhibition. “Gold” has been used for the exhibition sign outside of the museum, as well as the wall of the entryway of the exhibition hall. Not only does “gold” represent “beauty” and “splendor,” it also represents “supremity”; likewise, one may call Tsuguharu Foujita the supreme modern oil painter of our country (although he was baptized in his last years as Léonard Foujita and became a French citizen).; In the Kyoto portion of the present exhibition, 92 oil paintings and watercolors will be shown. Of these works, approximately thirty are from other countries such as France and Belgium, and approximately twenty works have never been shown to the public. This is the very first retrospective of such a massive scope, encompassing the whole of Foujita’s life as an artist.; Additionally, in Kyoto, the Collection Gallery (4F) will feature a Special Theme exhibition entitled “Tsuguharu Foujita and the Painters of the Kyūshitsu-kai of Nika-kai” during the Foujita exhibition, as well as oil paintings, watercolors, and photography with the theme of “Paris—Japan” from June 6 (Tue.) onward.
Notice: The following works will not be shown in Kyoto:

	Day of admission	Advance	Groups (20 or more)
Adult	1,300 yen	1,100 yen	900 yen
University students	900 yen	800 yen	600 yen
High school students	500 yen	400 yen	350 yen
Junior high and younger	Free	Free	Free

No. 28	Still Life with an Inkpot	1926	Bridgestone Museum of Art, Ishibashi Foundation
No. 32	Annunciation	1927	Hiroshima Museum of Art
No. 49	Bolivian Countrymen	1933	HORI ART MUSEUM
No. 54	Street Entertainers	1934	Masakichi Hirano Museum of Fine Art
No. 70	Fierce Fighting in Guadalcanal	1944	The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

The following watercolors will be shown for half of the exhibition period due to the fragile nature of the works:

Part I (May 30 - June 25)
No. 4	Red-Haired Woman	1917	Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
No. 10	Four Women at an Exhibition	1918	SANKO MUSEUM
No. 15	Adoration	c. 1918	Private collection
No. 46	People in Rio de Janeiro	1932	Private collection
No. 50	Mexican Boy	1933	Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo
No. 51	Fox Seller	1933	ALPHA JAPAN CO., LTD.
No. 53	A Ding-dong Party Bandsman and a Maid	1934	Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura and Hayama

Period II (June 27 - July 23)
No. 5	Three Women	1917	Private collection
No. 6	Old Man and a Child	1917	Private collection
No. 16	Christ	c. 1918	Queen Alice
No. 17	Women on a Seesaw	c. 1918	Private collection
No. 47	Bolivian Women	1932	Private collection
No. 48	Llama and Four Women	1933	Mie Prefectural Museum of Art
No. 55	Riverside Fish Market	1934	Shimonoseki City Art Museum

Publicity Materials: Exhibition flyer (A4); PDF file (9,167KB)

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Other Museums: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo 2006/03/28 (Tue.) - 05/21 (Sun.); Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum 2006/08/03 (Thu.) - 10/09 (Mon./holiday)

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