FREITAG, 8. MAI 2026 
This week in La Gazette Drouot: An original Descent from the Cross by Foujita, a true modern icon inspired by the Italian Primitives
T he Japanese artist of the Paris School was a free interpreter of the sacred painting of the Italian Primitives, as evidenced by this Descent from the Cross on a gold background.
By Sophie Reyssat
Read the full version of "An original Descent from the Cross by Foujita, a true modern icon inspired by the Italian Primitives" in La Gazette Drouot
Kept in the same family since the 1980s and rediscovered in the South of France by Luberon Enchères, this Descente de croix by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita will be one of the highlights of the Ivoire Live Tour. Hitherto unknown to specialists, this religious subject will be included in the fifth volume of the Foujita catalog raisonné, by Sylvie and Casimir Buisson.
Executed in 1918, during the artist's "primitive" period - between his arrival in Paris in 1913 and 1920 - it is a remarkable testimony to his early interest in spirituality. A Buddhist through family tradition, and drawn to mysticism from his youth in Japan, Foujita was immediately drawn to the sacred painting of the Italian Primitives, discovered at the Louvre, where he visited three times a week, in order to go to the sources of Western art.
Executed in 1918, during the artist's "primitive" period - between his arrival in Paris in 1913 and 1920 - it is a remarkable testimony to his early interest in spirituality. A Buddhist through family tradition, and drawn to mysticism from his youth in Japan, Foujita was immediately drawn to the sacred painting of the Italian Primitives, discovered at the Louvre, where he visited three times a week, in order to go to the sources of Western art.
Touched by the gracefulness of Trecento compositions - still using the gold background of Byzantine art to symbolize divine light, but already heralding the Renaissance by emphasizing the human emotions of the figures - Foujita incorporated a Christian dimension into his work from his earliest years in Paris. Integrating the codes of transalpine sacred art while retaining Asian specificities, this composition is a marvellous example of this.
On fluffy, long-fibered Japanese paper - a technical challenge for the use of tempera colors - the artist used the fine brushes of the Japanese tradition to draw his figures, and traced the stigmata of Christ in ink.
On fluffy, long-fibered Japanese paper - a technical challenge for the use of tempera colors - the artist used the fine brushes of the Japanese tradition to draw his figures, and traced the stigmata of Christ in ink.
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Live läuft Gestartet um 06:00 PM
Ivoire Live Tour 2026
Ivoire - Aix Luberon Enchères
Frankreich, 110, avenue du 1er-Mai, zone industrielle Saint-Joseph, 04100, Manosque
