Following his baptism as a Catholic in the 1950s, Foujita incorporated religious themes as a major focus of his work. Despite the horrors of two world wars, Foujita remained optimistic in his outlook on life. He resolutely separated himself from the social turmoil in the external world and elevated his artistry to new heights. In this period, he captured the warmth of women and children, and within the work he integrated scriptural allusions and depictions of the Holy Spirit. The suggestion of pregnancy in Le chapeau de sa maman (Lot 1041)becomes a eulogising depiction of the Virgin Mary cradling Christ in the work Maternité (Lot 1037), appearing for auction alongside the former work. The painting shows Foujita’s boundless reverence for the natural laws of life.

The holy light in the picture can be seen reflected off the surrounding rock walls. The Virgin Mary is at the centre of the image, cradling the infant Christ. Another child rests on the skirt, creating a stable, triangular composition that pays homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece Virgin of the Rocks. The Virgin’s expression is gentle and warm as she places a bright yellow cap on the head of the adorable baby Jesus in her arms, seamlessly merging together the depiction of the Holy Spirit with the authentic emotions between mother and son. The figures in the painting gesture with lifelike vitality, their fingertips brim with power, appearing to penetrate the clothing and press into the skin, emphasising the vivid emotional communication between the characters. In this sense the image is reminiscent of the work of Baroque era sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini who made hard marble appear as soft flesh, epitomised in Ratto di Proserpina.

The way in which Maternité uses gold leaf can be traced back to a Western tradition of medieval paintings that focus on the glorification of God and the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Also drawing from Eastern traditions, Foujita would have been profoundly influenced by the Kano School, a clan-based school of art from the shogunate in 15th century Japan, and a style that would dominate the Japanese art world for four centuries. Furthermore, the early 20th century saw a surge in popularity for the use of gold leaf in the paintings of the Austro-Hungarian painter Gustav Klimt. Foujita flawlessly integrates the enduring art form into Maternité, a work which not only pays tribute to masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, but also asserts the artist’s confidence to stand alongside giants as an equal, forging a new path within the world of modern art.

It is also worth noting that the back of Maternité retains the signature of Foujita’s main agent in Europe at the t.mes , Galerie Romanet, and it can be inferred that the work was selected for collects ion shortly after its completion by the gallery manager, Monique Romanet. Reading through Foujita’s catalogue raisonné, it becomes apparent that the artist created a series of portrait on paper as well as an oil painting for Romanet in 1953. The book also contains a photograph of the artist and Romanet talking to one another in front of this work. According to the footnotes, this photo was taken at a solo exhibition held by the artist at La Pinacoteca in Barcelona in 1953. With the close cooperation of Romanet, the artist was seen as a rising star within the art circles of post-war Europe.

Foujita’s religious work in gold leaf, Virgin of the Rocks (46.2 x 38.2 cm), sold at Replica Shoes ’s Hong Kong’s 2017 Evening Auction of Modern and Contemporary Art had also been handled by Galarie Romanet in Paris. The work’s composition and scale are very similar to those of Maternité and eventually sold at auction for HK$8.5 million, a test.mes nt to the high market value of the piece. This painting has finally been made available for auction for the first t.mes in 70 years. A powerful work that attests to the artist’s yearning in a foreign land, Maternité expresses the idea that true salvation cannot be found on the battlefield, and that it is within suffering that we might find the power of life and peace of mind.

藤田嗣治自五〇年代受洗天主教起，宗教題材成為藝術家治戰後的另一大創作重心，首個提出「巴黎畫派」的著名評論家安德烈·華諾即曾指出：「藤田嗣治的天主教畫作，誰能夠預想的到？最奇特的，是他畫像所表現出的強烈信仰感受。」遭逢兩次大戰之磨難，藤田嗣治卻並未因此喪失對生活的希冀，反而毅然將自身從外界環境與社會動盪中抽離，將藝術創作昇華至全新的高度。他將生活中對於女性和孩童的溫馨捕捉，引入聖經典故，融合聖靈之刻畫，比如《媽媽的禮帽》（拍品編號1041）中藝術家對「孕育」狀態中母親的描繪，在同場亮相之《聖母子像》（拍品編號1037）中即化為對聖母瑪利亞懷抱耶穌基督的讚頌，足見藤田嗣治將女性的生命傳承力量視為神蹟，以及對於生命自然法則的無限敬仰。

值得一提的是，《聖母子像》畫背上保留了當年藤田嗣治在歐洲的主要代理羅曼內畫廊之簽名，可推測本畫誕生後不久即被畫廊主理人莫妮卡·羅曼內選中納入收藏；若翻閱藤田嗣治全集，可發現藝術家曾於1953年為羅曼內繪製一系列紙本肖像手稿和一張油畫，同時書中亦刊載有一張藝術家與羅曼內站在本畫前交談之合影，根據腳註可知此張照片正拍攝於1953年藝術家在巴塞隆納的皮納克特卡畫廊舉辦的個展現場，可見藝術家戰後時期在與羅曼內緊密合作之下，在歐洲畫壇迅猛發展。

2017年香港蘇富比現當代藝術晚間拍賣中藤田嗣治的金箔宗教作品《岩間聖母》（46.2 x 38.2 cm），同樣經手巴黎羅曼內畫廊，構圖、尺幅與本幅《聖母子像》如出一轍，《岩間聖母》最終以8,500,000港幣之高價落錘，足見本畫珍貴的市場價值。同時，從藝術意旨看來，《聖母子像》不僅代表藤田嗣治對宗教的無限敬仰，更為戰後迷途徬徨、無處容身的靈魂指明了方位與前進的勇氣。時隔七十載，本畫首度釋於拍場，它是藝術家流離異鄉去往心向永恆的有力見證，因為真正的救贖，並不是廝殺後的勝利，而是能在苦難之中找到生的力量和心的安寧。