Lea Lafugie was a woman of many extraordinary talents: although primarily known as an artist, she also worked as a writer, designer, illustrator as well as a photographer with an exceptional interest in Asian culture, religion and civilization.
Born in 1880 in France, she began traveling the world at the age of 45. Her journey first took her to Sri Lanka and India, where she held many exhibitions and painted portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and the poet Rabindranath Tagore. She subsequently continued her travels to Tibet, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. In 1930, Lea Lafugie visited Indonesia twice and admittedly fell in love with the country’s exotic and unique culture.
In order to commemorate the journey of Lea Lafugie in Indonesia, Duta Fine Arts Foundation currently holds the exhibition ‘The French Artist, La Lafugie in Indonesia’, showcasing more than 80 paintings by the French artist; some paintings were created during the time she spent in the archipelago, while others were strongly influenced by Indonesian culture.
In addition to displaying Lafugie’s artworks, the exhibition opening was also enlivened with a biography launch, “Lea Lafugie: Art & Adventure”, published by Hexart Publishing. Among the guests attending the opening was Ambassador of France to Indonesia, H.E Madame Corinne Breuze, who expressed her gratitude to Duta Fine Arts to host this event, which runs through 7 November.
