The world's most beloved Japanese painter, known as the "darling of the Ecole de Paris."

"Café (1949)" was painted in New York, where Foujita spent a year before leaving Japan after World War II and heading to Paris.
The painting was donated to the Musée National d'Art Moderne in France and is currently housed at the Centre Pompidou.
Although it was painted in New York, the background is a Parisian landscape, and the work conveys Foujita's feelings for Paris.
The work also depicts milky skin and is one of his representative post-war works.

The world's most beloved Japanese painter, known as the "darling of the Ecole de Paris."

He was born in Tokyo in 1886. In 1910, he graduated from the Western Painting Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) and travelled to France alone. There, he became friends with Modigliani and Kisling.

He continued to study and join the ranks of world-famous painters. In 1925, he was awarded the Legion of Honor. 1942, the military dispatched him to various Southeast Asian parts to research wartime documentary paintings. 1946, the Japan Art Association was formed, and the debate over war responsibility began in earnest.

In 1951, he donated his representative works, such as "My Interior" and "Still Life with Accordion," to the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris. In 1955, he acquired French citizenship. He resigned from his membership in the Japan Art Academy. In 1966, he built the Notre-Dame de la Paix Foujita Chapel in Reims. He died in 1968 at the age of 81. The Japanese government awarded him the First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure.

In the early 20th century, Foujita created a sensation in Paris, the art capital, leading the genius Picasso to say, "He is a true genius."

His female figures and nudes, painted with delicate lines and thin paint on smooth bases, were highly praised as Grand Fonds Blanc (excellent milky white), and he established an unshakable position as a painter.

The most exciting thing about them is that they produce unexpected results. However, some painters think that lines are just about outlining an object. Lines should not simply refer to the outer contours but should be explored from the heart of an object.

Artists must gaze deeply into an object and capture the right lines. To understand this, one must train hard enough to master the essence of beauty. ~Tsuguharu Foujita "Swimming on the Earth"