Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita

Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita was a Japanese-French painter who became a star of the lively art scene in 1920s Paris. Born in Tokyo in 1886, he moved to France and mixed Japanese techniques with Western subjects, developing a signature style of fine black outlines and delicate, milky white backgrounds. He was famous above all for elegant nudes and for his many paintings of cats.

A colorful figure with a distinctive haircut and round glasses, he was a well-known personality among the artists of Montparnasse. Later in life he converted to Catholicism, took the name Léonard, and devoted himself partly to religious art. Foujita's graceful blend of East and West gave him a unique place in the art of his time.