LEONARD TSUGUHARU FOUJITA (1886-1968) Suite of six etchings and aquatints on parchment appliqué on Japon from the "Les Chats" series Album published by Éditions Artistiques Apollo, Galerie Mantelet, Colette Weil, éditeur, 71, rue La Boétie, Paris, 1929 Numbered J/J, one of ten numbered from A to J, signed by the artist. Contained in a portfolio sheathed in blue morocco and signed by the publisher. Dimensions: Height 31 cm - Width 37.6 cm (bowl) Each plate is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Sylvie et Casimir Buisson. Bibliography: Sylvie Buisson, Foujita, Volume 2 of the Catalogue général raisonné, ACR Éditions, Paris, 2001 Among Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita's most emblematic subjects, cats occupy a privileged, almost autobiographical place. From the moment he arrived in Montparnasse in the 1910s, Foujita forged a singular identity: that of a Japanese artist who had become a key figure in the Parisian avant-garde. His precise brushstrokes, taste for refinement and ability to unite Eastern aesthetics with Western modernity quickly won over his contemporaries. But it is through his countless representations of cats that he most intimately reveals his sensitivity and humor. The album Les Chats, published in 1929 by Éditions Artistiques Apollo, is one of his most accomplished expressions. It features ten etched and aquatinted plates, accompanied by a text by the artist, celebrating feline attitudes, whims and grace with a tenderness tinged with irony. The calligraphic finesse of the drawing reflects the science of line inherited from Japanese painting, while the modeling of the furs and the subtlety of the values reveal the technical mastery acquired in France. One hundred copies of the album were printed on Japon paper, and ten hors commerce copies were reserved on parchment, marked with the letters A to J - true proofs for close friends and privileged collectors. These rare copies, including the one presented here, are today the bibliophilic summit of Foujita's engraved works.