Friday,September27, 2024 – Tuesday,February18, 2025 )
Karuizawa Ando Art Museum 2nd Anniversary Special Event
The Loved Ones of Tsuguharu Fujita
In the 1920s, Tsuguharu Fujita became a household name when he painted “milky white nudes”. Today, the milky-white nudes that only Fujita could produce are synonymous with his work. However, Fujita did not continue to paint “milky white nudes,” and his motifs changed with the changing times.
Fujita painted objects that were close to him and comforted him, as well as familiar figures that he loved and cherished. For example, Kiki, with whom he had a deep friendship, and Yuki, his third wife, often appear in his nudes, and Madeleine, his fourth wife, was a woman he loved and painted many times. Fujita’s paintings of his desk were filled with ink, letter sets, watches, and glasses that he would have loved to use. It was after he left Japan, wounded by the issues surrounding his responsibility for the war, that he began to paint more of the Madonna and Child and children. Fujita never returned to Japan, acquiring French citizenship in 1955 and converting to Catholicism in 1959. While working on many religious paintings, Fujita, who had no children, continued to paint imaginary children on canvas as the “children he most wanted to love. Needless to say, cats were always by his side.
This exhibition, titled “The Loved Ones of Tsuguharu Fujita,” offers a glimpse into Fujita’s life through the motifs he loved and painted at any given time. The exhibition may reveal the mysteries of the healing and warmth that we suddenly feel when we see Fujita’s works in front of us. We hope that you will experience the love that Fujita put into his works as you enjoy our collection of over 200 pieces.
Fujita leaning against Kimiyo in her home in Villiers-le-Bacl , Collection of Ando Museum of Art, Karuizawa
The first public showing of Tsuguharu Fujita’s “Self-Portrait”
Tsuguharu Fujita poured his love into everyday objects and painted them. This exhibition will also focus on Foujita himself. Self-Portrait, the main image of this exhibition, was created in 1928 and is on view for the first time. This work will be the centerpiece of a variety of self-portraits. We hope you will enjoy seeing how Fujita looked at himself and how he painted himself – the Fujita that he loved.
The current collection consists of approximately 200 works.
In commemoration of the museum’s second anniversary, this exhibition will feature as many works as possible under the theme of “The Loved Ones of Tsuguharu Fujita”. The colorful walls are filled with works by Tsuguharu Fujita alone. No matter where you look in the world, you will find no other place in the world where you can view such a lavish collection of FUJITA’s works as in this commemorative exhibition of the museum’s opening. Don’t miss this opportunity!
Fujita’s private photos and handwritten notebooks will be unveiled.
It was Mrs. Kimiyo, Fujita’s last wife, who supported him until the end of his life after he fled Japan, wounded by the issues surrounding his war responsibilities. In this special exhibition, we will unveil a collection of items donated by the bereaved family of Mrs. Kimiyo. The exhibition features private photographs taken at his home in Villiers-le-Baclé, where he spent his last years with Kimiyo, as well as a notebook written by Fujita in Paris in 1939 during the war years. Also on view are a number of works that provide a glimpse into Fujita’s life with Kimiyo.
