Restaurant (Au Reveil Matin)

The exterior wall of this building is painted with two signs, one that reads "Restaurant – Vins – Liqueurs" while the other states the establishment's name, "Au Reveil Matin" (waking at dawn). The building stands by itself, somewhat lonely in mood. On his second stay in Paris when he had set up his studio in Montparnasse on August 21, 1927, Saeki began a series of works around November of that year depicting the cafes and restaurants around the Port-Royal district. It was around this period that Saeki's creative activity became surprisingly energetic, and in a letter written after his return from France, he noted, "I was determined to study with all my might from now on," and, "Back in France I had painted 107 works by my fifth month, and was up to 145 works by the following month," indicating the rapid progress he made. However, the following year his health failed and his spirit too, and he died on August 16th, 1927, just barely 30 years old and not long after his return from Paris. The year after his death, this work was one of 89 works presented in a memorial display at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art.