'Portrait of a Gentleman in Montmartre Paris', Japanese School (1972)

'Portrait of a Gentleman in Montmartre Paris', pastel and charcoal on paper, Japanese School (1972). This accomplished portrait depicts an older gentleman seated in Place du Tertre, Montmartre, wearing a felt hat and spectacles. The work displays assured draughtsmanship and an immediacy characteristic of portrait drawings made sur le motif (drawn directly from life, or on the spot) in post-war Paris.

The drawing is dated 18 September 1972 and bears both a signature and Japanese characters, indicating the artist’s cultural background. Contemporary documentation associated with the work records that the artist was a Japanese student of Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, situating the portrait within the lineage of Japanese artists active in Paris who absorbed and extended Foujita’s distinctive synthesis of Western academic technique and Japanese sensitivity to line and surface. The sitter is understood to be the individual for whom the drawing was made, lending the work a personal and documentary quality. The composition, with its restrained palette and emphasis on expression, reflects the enduring influence of the École de Paris well into the 1970s. A rare and evocative portrait from Montmartre in the later half of the 20th century, this work stands as a quiet testament to Paris’s continued role as a meeting point of international artistic traditions. The artwork is in good overall condition and has been newly framed with anti-reflective art glass. Please enjoy the many photos accompanying this listing. Upon request, a video will be provided.

Dimensions with frame:

H 59 cm / 23.2"

W 45.3 cm / 17.8"

Dimensions without frame:

H 44 cm / 17.3"

W 31.5 cm / 12.4"