A COURSE OF LECTURES: DISSYMMETRICAL SIMILARITIES
LECTURE 11
BALTHUS — TSUGUHARU FUJITA
Irina Kulik
Wednesday, July 15, 2015, 19:30
Garage Education Center
Balthus (1908–2001) was a French artist of Polish origin, who grew up in a bohemian Parisian family. The first book of his drawings came out in 1921, with a foreword by Rainer Maria Rilke. In his figurative painting, often of erotic subjects, Balthus largely continued the classical tradition. However, a certain influence exerted on him by contemporaries, especially the Surrealists, distinguishes his work. In the 1940s and 50s Balthus designed productions by Antonin Artaud and other avant-garde filmmakers. He was famous not only for his art, but also for the aura of mystery that he created around himself.
Having received his artistic education at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, Tsuguharu Fujita (1886–1968) moved to Paris in 1913, where he entered the circle of Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and others. Later he would go to Latin America and then return to Japan. In the 1950s he was awarded French citizenship and he converted to Catholicism. Women, cats and the naked body are the main motifs of his paintings and graphic works, which combine traditional Japanese techniques with the characteristics of European modernism. Fujita was also famous for his extravagant appearance.
Entrance is free, but seats are limited. Please arrive early.
Irina Kulik, PhD (b. 1970) is an art critic, culture expert, lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), and author of numerous publications on contemporary art, cinema, and music
Images:
1. Balthus
The Golden Years, 1945
Oil on canvas, 199 x 148 cm
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, USA
2. Balthus
The Mediterranean Cat, 1949
Oil on canvas
Private collection
3. Tsuguharu Fujita
In the Café, 1949
Oil on canvas, 76 x 64 cm
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
4. Tsuguharu Fujita
Self-Portrait
Hirano Masakichi Museum of Fine Art, Akita, Japan
