Leonard Foujita

Japanese-French painter and printmaker, regarded as one of the leading figures in the introduction of European influences in Japanese art. Leonard Foujita was the first Asian to belong to the School of Paris.He brought with him from Japan a graphic tradition of linear design and fused this with a measured application of the innovation of such artists as Matisse and Dufy. He spent most of his life in Paris and many of his works include animals, especially cats, which are often depicted sensuously nestling up to their attractive mistresses. Primarily, an Expressionist artist, Foujita´s works often-combined European and Japanese techniques and included landscapes, figures and images of cats. He is also known for his frescos at the Chapel of Our Lady of Peace, Reims.