Adoration 1962

Tsuguharu Foujita painted Adoration sometime between 1962 and 1965 with such delicate precision. The subdued palette feels quiet, reverent, and the longer you look, the more the narrative unfolds. The way the paint is applied, thinly and almost translucent, creates a smooth, porcelain-like surface, which is so interesting in contrast to the weighty subject matter. Look at the Virgin's gown; it is rendered with such intricate detail, each fold and crease carefully articulated and yet the overall effect is so ethereal. Foujita manages to make paint look almost like light itself. Foujita’s work often synthesizes Eastern and Western artistic traditions. I wonder if the flatness of the composition and the emphasis on line owes something to Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. Think too, of course, of Italian Renaissance painting; perhaps Giotto's frescos come to mind. Art’s an ongoing conversation across time, isn’t it?