In the 1950s, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita returned to Paris after two decades away. Europe was reeling from World War II, and during this t.mes , he focused on religious subjects, often painting young women and children to heal the wounds of war. In contrast to the passion and allure of his early nudes, Foujita’s late paintings of women are pure, almost sacred. In these young women, he sought a natural, unaffected power that supported him in his search for simple pleasures in his sixties. In Les deux soeurs (Lot 1048), the sisters clasp hands in an almost prayer-like gesture, showing their piety and faith.

In 1959, Foujita and his wife Kimiyo were baptized into Catholicism in France, and he took the name Léonard. He immersed himself in the deep religiosity of the local culture and became obsessed with his work. Before he created this painting, he was inspired by two Western teenagers to paint a work with clear religious intention, showing that, culturally, he was no longer a transient visitor from the East. After witnessing the many privations of war, Foujita threw himself into the pursuit of spiritual redemption, and this piece is the softest and most sincere crystallization of that important process.

Foujita’s figure paintings are characterised by interesting interactions between figures that enrich the visual enjoyment of the piece. The composition of this work is special; the women’s silhouettes are almost identical, layered one on top of the other. However, the brunette woman’s left hand grasps the blonde woman’s right hand. This posture reflects the deep affection between sisters, expresses the artist’s keen observation of the rhythmic beauty of the human body, and adds a bit of interest to what is otherwise a rather serious composition. When Foujita first arrived in Paris, he often studied works in the Louvre. He also travelled to Italy to absorb as much classical art as he could. With both of these resources, his style was deeply influenced by classical Western art. The two young women in the painting stand shoulder to shoulder, looking firmly at the viewer. The entire composition is elegant yet serious. Formally, the piece is a homage to the grand tradition of Western portraiture, but the fine lines are modelled on yamato-e in the Japanese tradition, soft yet elegant, representing Foujita’s distinctive blend of Eastern and Western styles.

The sisters, one blonde and one brunette, are delicate beauties. Their pale complexions reflect Foujita’s interest in the glow of milky-white skin since the 1920s, but this work lacks the sensuality of his earlier nudes, and their skin is instead a symbol of purity. In the 1930s, Foujita travelled to South America, where he was deeply influenced by the fresh, vibrant colours of Mexican art, which inspired bolder colour pairings in future pieces. In this work, Foujita makes use of the intense contrasts between red and green, blue and brown, and black and white. He also places the women against a refined blue background, which is quite rare in his work from this period and vaguely reminiscent of the succinctness of European and American abstract art from the 1950s.

Les deux soeurs has been in the family of the present collects or since the early 1960s. The work has not been shown in public for the last six decades, so this sale offers a rare opportunity. In Sylvie Buisson’s 2001 catalogue raisonné, this painting is recorded as part of a Canadian private collects ion, which supports the work’s provenance, but also demonstrates that Foujita’s aesthetic has been collects ed widely and acknowledged internationally since the mid-twentieth century.

五〇年代，藤田嗣治重返闊別二十載的巴黎，當時的歐洲社會正經歷二戰後的低迷氣氛，此期間他專注描繪宗教主題，並常以少女和孩童為題作畫，藉此慰藉戰後時代的創傷。有別於早年裸女畫的情慾與嫵媚，藤田晚年的女性題材更顯純摯和聖潔，他在少女身上尋得最為天性質樸的力量，以支撐其於年過花甲尋求純樸快樂的人生目標。《兩姐妹》（拍品編號1048）創於1957年，畫中的的兩姊妹共同合十雙手，形成一個神似祈禱的手勢，表達著虔誠奉獻信仰的深意。

1959年，藤田嗣治與妻子君代在法國接受洗禮，從此昄依天主教，並為自己取聖名為里奧納德，浸淫於當地濃厚的宗教氛圍中，醉心創作。本作創於此前，以兩位西方妙齡少女為靈感來源，體現清晰的宗教意涵，反映藝術家此時在文化思想上，再不是那個來自東方的異鄉過客；在目睹種種戰亂困苦後，藤田投入追尋宗教哲學上的精神救贖，而本作即是此重要過程中最溫柔真摯的結晶。

藤田嗣治的人物畫，以巧妙的人物互動關係為一大特色，豐富觀者的觀賞過程；而本作的構圖亦十分特殊，兩人的身影幾乎重疊一致，然而少女的左手卻牽著另一人的右手，這種姿態互動帶出深厚的姊妹情誼，又表達出藝術家對肢體律動美的細緻觀察，在看似嚴肅的構圖中顯出新奇巧。藤田嗣治初抵巴黎時經常流連羅浮宮觀摩自學，又曾到訪意大利飽覽古典藝術，他的風格深受西方古典藝術影響。本作中的少女二人側肩並列、眼神堅毅凝視觀者，整幅構圖唯美而莊重，形式上致敬西方肖像畫的偉大傳統，而細膩的線條以日本傳統大和繪為本，輕柔與高雅並存，形成和洋合璧的獨特風格。

《兩姐妹》中的棕髮與金髮女子甜美可人，兩人勝雪之肌膚，透現著藤田自二〇年代開展的乳白色肌膚的光采，卻絲毫未覺早期女體畫的色情意味，而是象徵著純潔與無暇。藤田於三〇年代曾一度遠赴南美洲發展，並深受墨西哥藝術潑辣鮮艷的用色影響，自此在創作開啓更大膽的色彩配搭。本作即可見藤田採用紅與綠、藍與棕、黑與白的強烈對比，而女孩們背靠著一幕高雅的靛藍色背景，在同期作品中極爲罕見，更隱現五〇年代歐美抽象藝術的簡約風格。

《兩姐妹》自六〇年代即由現藏家家族珍藏，至今超過六十載，期間重未公開亮相，如今驚喜現世，實屬難得。而在Sylvie Buisson於2001年出版之藤田嗣治作品全集中，即有記載本作原屬加拿大私人收藏，不僅引證此一構藏歷史，亦體現藤田筆下美學自二十世紀中期起已廣受國際認可，其作品收藏足跡十分廣泛。