Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968, Japanese-French)

Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968, Japanese-French) was a painter and print-maker and a well-known lover of cats. His works skillfully mix traditional Japanese styles with the trend of the time, European Modernism. Born in Tokyo, Foujita studied western art at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, graduating in 1910. Three years later he traveled to Paris where he met Picasso, Modigliani , Matisse, Fernand Léger and Jacques Cocteau, with whom he shared a love of cats.

Jean Cocteau and Foujita with Cat Show Winner, Paris Nov. 3, 1950

He was able to make a great deal of money during his lifetime through his eclectic style of painting nudes and cats. In 1925, he was awarded the Belgian Order of Leopold. In 1931, he traveled to South America where he was a huge success. During WWII, Foujita lived in Japan where he helped produce war propaganda, and because of this, he was later labeled a fascist imperialist. He left Japan after the war and returned to France where he converted to Catholicism. At the age of 80 he designed and had built the Foujita Chapel in Reims, France, which was completed in 1966. Foujita died of cancer in Zurich, Switzerland, and was initially buried in the Cimetière de Villiers-le-Bâcle, France, but was later moved to the burial ground of the Foujita Chapel.

Foujita’s love of cats spanned his entire lifetime. The majority of his works either center on cats or include cats in the composition. He published a Book of Cats in 1930 which includes 20 etched plate drawings. This book is considered one of the top five hundred rare books ever sold.

When interviewed by the Milwaukee Journal in 1935, Foujita stated, “Ladies who would be alluring to men should surround themselves with cats…I never look at men, only at women—they have, each one such marvelous possibilities of beauty. But unfortunately most of them have not developed these possibilities because they have not learned the lessons cats can teach…” The good and bad qualities of cats closely resemble the attributes of women. “Cats never give anything away. They are out for what they can get. They have tigerish passions when aroused. They have grace, beauty of movement, intriguing languor. Cats are never in a hurry, never angular. They move softly, gently, insinuatingly. Clever women live with cats…They study the animal’s movements, habits and emotional reactions…”

Lucie Badoud, model and muse

Black and White Cat, 1920

Cat and Monkey, 1947

Cat by Tsuguharu Foujita. Etching, 1920.

Cat Etching, 1920

Cat Lying Down

Cat on a Letter

Cat and Kitten, 1929

Cat with Stomach Up, 1929

Cat, 1926

Clowder of Cats

Couturier Cat, 1927

From A Book of Cats, 1930

A Book of Cats, Sappho

Kitten, 1929

Black and White Cat

Red Cat Sitting (Chat Roux Assis), 1930

Kitten trying to be Good

leonard_tsuguharu_foujita_chatte_et_chaton

Cat and Kitten, Chatte et Chaton

Mother and Kitten

Orange Tabby Cat

Seated Cat

Sleeping Cat, 1929

Sleeping Cat, 1926

Sleeping Kitten

Three Cats Fighting over a Fish, 1932

Three Cats

Cat Sketch

Tsugouhoru Foujita (1886-1968), 1918, Reclining Cat, oil on canvas.

Reclining Cat, 1918

Cat ,1929

Les Chats, 1930

Two Cats

Two Sleeping Kittens

White cat on Red Background, 1926

Black Cat on Red Stone

Cat with Kittens

Cat on Blue Background

Cat Sleeping on a Chair

Paleroyal, 1951

Vendôme, 1951

Foujita, 1922, Portrait of Emily Crane Chadbourne

Portrait of Emily Crane Chadbourne, 1922

My Dream, 1947

Nude Woman and Cat

Dame aux chats

Woman and Cat, 1937

Woman Holding a Cat

Youki and cat

Girl Holding a Cat

Self-portrait, 1926

Want to know more about the cat in art, history and literature? Then Revered and Reviled is the book for you. Now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats.