Le boulevard Edgar-Quinet 

Curator: Looking at "Le boulevard Edgar-Quinet" by Tsuguharu Foujita, I can’t help but feel a profound sense of stillness amidst the implied urban bustle. Editor: My first impression is that it feels incredibly crafted. There's something deliberate in the layering of washes; you can sense the hand working through the materiality of paint, ink, and watercolor. What do you think? Curator: Absolutely! It's like Foujita invites us to consider the essence of Parisian architecture through this lens of handcrafted art. The building's texture is so tangible; it is an invitation to look beyond the facade. And do not forget his signature: an echo, in his own way, of the great Japanese printmakers who stamped their mark. Editor: Right, I agree! Consider the implications of applying watercolor and ink to a cityscape. It isn’t a straightforward act of rendering a scene. It transforms urban labor, the daily grind of Parisian life, into a controlled studio practice of material manipulation and compositional strategy. And those shutters--the number of cuts required! Curator: Yes, you put your finger on something. And the colors! The limited palette pushes the viewer to find beauty not in the grand spectacle of color but in the subdued, subtle modulations of light and shadow. Perhaps it mirrors his internal search, a meditative reflection cast upon the buildings that line the street. The trees too, so gaunt—they strike an elegiac note. Editor: Totally. When looking at Foujita's treatment of this slice of urban existence, consider the accessibility of his chosen materials, ink and watercolor—simple, quotidian, yet capable of depicting grand spaces and a bustling sense of everyday commerce. They elevate what might be deemed simple to the realm of profound artistic inquiry. Curator: Indeed, it encourages us to meditate on the city, to peel back the layers of stone and stories to reveal the souls intertwined with its existence. In a city so often defined by grandeur, Foujita illuminates its tender core. Editor: To view Parisian life through the application of humble materials underscores how Foujita redefined what it meant to render "the street" using accessible methods and how Foujita used common materials to reveal profound observations of life, labor, and light.