Among the members of École de Paris of the 20th century, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, with his remarkable achievements and widespread recognition received during lifet.mes , dwarfed every other artist who journeyed from the East during that era. In the Roaring Twenties, Paris was an open and liberal society, allowing artists, poets and writers to gather in cafes, exchange ideas and seek inspiration, immersing themselves in a moveable feast of creativity. At that t.mes , Foujita's unique aesthetics of "combining Japanese and Western elements" captivated the Parisian art scene, making him the most dazzling Asian figure of the École de Paris. As a Japanese artist, he became a bona fide legend, a name to be reckoned with. Foujita boldly delved into the realm of female figure painting, with his depictions of women displaying tender and smooth "milky white skin", which garnered immense attention. Between the golden decade of 1921 and 1931, he created a series of grand-scale paintings of reclining nude, catapulting him to fame. Today, many of these works are held in the permanent collects ions of renowned national museums around the world, including the Hiroshima Museum of Art, Fukuoka Art Museum, Masakichi Hirano Museum of Replica Handbags , Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nîmes, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Royal Museums of Replica Handbags s of Belgium, and the Petit Palais, Geneva, leaving a footprint across Asia and Europe. Only very few from this series are in private collects ions, with Nu au chat being a rare and exceptional example from significant private collects ion. It is also the only such masterpiece available in the market, rivaling all notable museum collects ions.

Being unt.mes d and enthusiastic, the young Foujita embarked on a solo journey to Paris. Swiftly, he melded into the vibrant and bustling Floral City, rubbings shoulders with fellow travelers from all corners of the world, together bearing witness to the blooming avant-garde art in the pre- and post-war era. During that t.mes , foreign artists gathered in Paris, gracing Montparnasse as their creative hub. They embraced freedom and diversity, immersing themselves in an inclusive cultural environment that gave rise to a vibrant and dynamic art scene. With the help of Amedeo Modigliani and Chaïm Soutine, Foujita settled in Falguière. His camaraderie with various figures of École de Paris sparked continuous exchange of ideas, fueling the development of modern art with an inexhaustible wellspring of creativity. While each of these avant-garde pioneers had their unique style, their shared boldness in subject matter, particularly the entrancing nude portraits, formed a common thread. These paintings became prized acquisitions sought after by museums and private collects ors worldwide, including works of luminaries like Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt and René Magritte, as well as Asian artists like Sanyu. In recent t.mes s, portraits by these masters have fetched staggering prices, soaring into the billions. Foujita's artistic contributions have received recognition through the collects ions and exhibitions of major museums. His distinct fusion of Japanese and Western elements crafted a fresh aesthetic language, positioning him as a rare treasure within the captivating tapestry of École de Paris's legendary history.

Foujita's fascination and reverence for the beauty of women were inspired by the muses in his immediate circle. One of these muses was Kiki, a well-known model within the Montparnasse art scene. Prominent artists like Modigliani and Sanyu had also depicted her in their works. Kiki was the model in Foujita's renowned painting Reclining Nude with Toile de Jouy (1922), a masterpiece now housed in the Paris Museum of Modern Art. This painting catapulted Foujita to fame. In the subsequent year, Foujita crossed paths with another muse Lucie Badoud, the woman he would nickname Youki (“small snow”) for her snow-like, flawless complexion. The eight to nine years of their acquaintance and romantic relationship coincided remarkably with Foujita's peak years of painting nudes. Youki's immaculately white skin became the wellspring of inspiration behind Foujita's reputation in Paris for capturing the essence of "milky white skin". Foujita's enchantment with Youki's snow-white skin can be traced back to Japan's traditional admiration for fair complexions. This particular painting embodies the exquisite beauty of Youki, exuding a romantic ambiance brimming with intense emotions. In his pursuit of vivid depiction of the beauty of the model, Foujita developed novel painting pigments and meticulously refined the canvas to achieve the translucent ivory hue that was uniquely his style. This endeavor resulted in the creation of a radiant, ceramic-smooth, milky-white complexion for the subject. Employing tender and sinuous brushstrokes reminiscent of Eastern traditions, Foujita artfully delineated the exquisite contours of the slumbering Youki. Executed on a canvas nearly mirroring real-life proportions, he skillfully sculpted an image radiating a flawless, divine quality.

Japanese traditional aesthetics often feature depictions of the idealized female image. However, overtly exposed nudes are a rare sight in Japanese art. Take ukiyo-e prints as an example, they often show beautiful women with just a hint of the knee or the curve of their neck, using an incredibly subtle approach to convey sensuality. Contrastingly, nudes have been a longstanding subject in Western art history. Artists, often using the names of mythological goddesses, depicted reclining nude women in seductive poses, a theme that has been a classic since the Renaissance. After moving to France, Foujita found inspiration in the Louvre and immersed himself in classical art during a visit to Italy. In his exploration of the roots of European civilization, he was struck by the Western celebration of the perfect female form. He regarded the depiction of the female body as a way to blend Japanese and Western traditions and a means of revitalizing tradition. The evocative pose of Youki in Nu au chat is derived from the famous classical masterpiece The Nightmare, painted in 1781 by Swiss artist Henry Fuseli. The languid and sweet figure slowly enters a dream, while the attentive cat locks eyes with the viewer, capturing a moment of shared gaze. Foujita's fondness for cats, which he considered crucial muses, is evident in this work. Incorporating their charming forms into his painting underscored the preciousness of this piece.

To refine his composition and technique, Foujita went on to create four monumental works depicting Youki in a consistent pose. Among them, one piece titled Reclining Nude remained in private hands for decades. The other two pieces found a home in the Fukuoka Art Museum, including an original draft of this work, a test.mes nt to its esteemed museum quality. The bond between Foujita and Youki gradually faded away after 1931. The artist embarked on a journey to South America, which led to Youi's gradual disappearance from his artistic endeavors. Foujita's creative output, with its focus on the nudes with “milky white skin", reached its pinnacle after the creation of Nu au chat, marking a significant chapter in his career.

二十世紀「巴黎畫派」之中，唯獨藤田嗣治的驕人成就，冠絕同期所有從東方遠道而來的藝術家。在咆哮的二〇年代，巴黎的社會風氣開放，藝術家、詩人、作家流連咖啡館互相交流、尋找靈感，沉醉於一場流動的饗宴中。此時，藤田憑藉「和洋合璧」的獨特美學風靡全城，一躍而成巴黎畫派中最耀眼的東方寵兒，以日本藝術家的罕有身分，締造了傳奇名聲。藤田大膽鑽研女體畫，其筆下女性白嫩滑膩的「乳白色肌膚」引起極大迴響，在1921至1931年此黃金十年之間，他創作了一系列大尺幅的斜躺裸女畫，由此將藝術家的名氣推往高峰；時至今日，多幅作品已進入全球各大國家級別的博物館永久收藏，包括日本廣島美術館、日本福岡美術館、日本秋田公益財團法人平野政吉美術財團、法國尼姆美術館、法國巴黎市立現代美術館、比利時布魯塞爾皇家美術館、瑞士日內瓦小皇宮美術館等，足跡遍及亞歐，而僅餘落入私人收藏囊中的屈指可數，《裸女與貓》正是蔚為難得從重要私人珍藏中釋出、亦是唯一出現市場上的珍罕鉅作，媲美所有博物館藏。

本著年輕的不羈與熱情，藤田嗣治孑然一身來到巴黎，很快便適應了繁華花都的節奏，與來自四湖五海的旅人過客，共同見證著戰前戰後持續萌興的前衛藝術。當時聚腳於巴黎的異國藝術家，以蒙帕拿斯作爲主要據點，他們以擁抱自由和多元性為宗旨，享受著兼容並蓄的文化氛圍，因而締造了前所未見的藝術漩渦。藤田嗣治在莫迪里亞尼與蘇丁的協助下，在法居耶區找到地方設立工作室，而他與巴黎畫派諸位的友誼，亦激盪出無數的美學交流與衝擊，以無窮的創造力推進了現代藝術的發展。這群現代先鋒的同輩，雖然風格各異，卻以題材大膽為共通點，其中以裸露的人像或最令人神迷嚮往，亦成爲全球博物館、私人藏家爭相購藏的對象，包括莫迪里安尼、畢加索、古斯塔夫・克林姆、雷內・馬格利特等，而亞洲的代表亦有常玉，這些大師筆下人像作品在近年都紛紛以過億天價成交。藤田嗣治的藝術貢獻，在各大博物館藏與展覽的論述中已被肯定，其和洋合璧的獨到精神，開闢了嶄新的美學語言，是巴黎畫派一代傳奇歷史之中的滄海遺珠。

藤田對女性美態的啟蒙與傾慕，主要源自他身邊的繆斯女神，其一是在蒙帕納斯藝術圈十分著名、包括莫迪里亞尼、常玉等人都曾以她為題創作的模特兒琪琪，亦即現由巴黎市立現代美術館典藏之《裸女與印花布》（1922年作）的女主角，該畫使藤田一舉成名。而在翌年，藤田便邂逅原名為露西・芭杜的另一位繆斯女神——小雪。「小雪」（“Youki”）是藤田因其肌膚白皙勝雪而為她而取的日語暱稱，兩人相識相戀的八、九年間，與藤田埋首創作女體畫的巔峰歲月大致重疊，而小雪正是他揚名巴黎的「乳白色肌膚」之靈感泉源。藤田情迷小雪的白雪肌膚，是源於日本傳統崇尚白皙的審美觀，而本作即體現畫中人的絕代丰姿，畫面處處蘊藉情到極致的浪漫韻味。為了更好表達肌膚勝雪之美，藤田更動手研發新的繪畫顏料，並細心打磨基底、弭平布紋，以達致畫中所呈現的半透明象牙基調，為筆下伊人塑造出陶瓷般平滑亮澤的乳白色肌膚。藤田又以纖毫而蜿蜒的東洋工筆線條，勾勒出沉睡中的小雪之絕美輪廓，在接近真人比例的尺幅之上，為她塑造出神性無暇的形象。

日本傳統美學並不乏對仕女形象的描繪，卻鮮有表現裸露的人像，如浮世繪中的美人圖，多數僅會微露膝蓋或頸部，以極其含蓄的手法表達性感。一絲不掛的裸女，卻是西方藝術史裡恆久的題材，畫家以神話女神之名，描繪裸女斜躺的媚態，自文藝復興時期起已成經典。抵法以後，藤田嗣治經常流連羅浮宮觀摩自學，又曾到訪意大利飽覽古典藝術，在溯源歐洲文明的過程當中，他深受西方文化對女性完美胴體之歌頌所觸動，更將女體畫視為和洋融合、革新傳統的立足點。《裸女與貓》中小雪的動人姿態，取形於1781年瑞士畫家亨利・穆斯里所繪的著名古典鉅作《夢魔》，慵懶而甜美的伊人漸入香夢，一旁的貓咪則炯炯有神地直視觀者，瞬間捕捉了多重凝視的互動性。藤田嗣治素來愛貓，亦是藝術家的重要創作繆斯，而將其可愛身影入畫，尤其突顯本作的珍貴性。

而為了精進構圖與技法，藤田前後創作了四幅小雪身姿一致的巨幅油畫，除了一件《仰臥裸女》神隱私人收藏多年，另外兩件《仰臥裸女》已由日本福岡市立美術館收藏，包括其中一件本作之原稿，再次引證本作之博物館藏級別。至1931年以後，藤田嗣治與小雪的感情漸漸遠逝，藝術家一度遠赴南美旅居，而小雪的身影亦因此淡出其作品，而此以「乳白色裸女」為主軸的創作高峰，亦在《裸女與貓》的誕生之後寫下完滿一章，其歷史重量無可比擬。