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Fernand
Leger
(1881-1955)
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Three Women
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Fernand Leger was a
French Cubist painter born in Normandy. Though lesser
known than his fellow Cubist artists, Leger has been
hailed as one of the greatest French painters of his
time. Influential not only in Cubism, he also made a
mark in constructivism and poster art. |
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Figure study
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Leger did not start
out studying art, but was originally apprenticed to an
architect in Caen. This led him to work with another
architect in Paris, and later in 1903 at a photography
studio retouching photos. He was rejected from the Ecole
des Beaux-Arts that same year. Leger, however, did not
let this rejection stop him from unofficially attending
classes there anyway. Instead, he enrolled at the
Academie Julien and the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs. |
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Blue Vase Composition, 1918
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In 1909, Leger
discovered Cubism and became a member of the Puteaux
Group in 1911. While fellow Cubists Braque and Picasso
were painting in a rectangular form within this
movement, Leger's style was more tubular and
cylindrical. Leger was also known to be among the first
of the Cubists to experiment with figurative Cubist
compositions. Leger began to veer towards Abstract art
from 1911 to 1914, but retained his Cubist style
nonetheless. During this time, he mainly painted in
black and white motifs. |
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Table and Fruit, 1909
Nude on Red Background, 1927
Woman With a Pitcher, 1928
Machines
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Leger's career as an
artist was put on hold during World War I when he was
called to serve in the war. From 1914 to 1917, he fought
for France, and when he returned, his themes were
affected as a result. Many of his compositions took on a
mechanical quality and machine-like images became
frequent themes. |
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Men in the City, 1919
Construction Workers
The Mechanic, 1920
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In the 1920s and 30s,
Leger was commissioned to create murals for public
buildings and began to paint single objects on a giant
scale. He also worked in film and created art for the
Swedish ballet during this time. By the onset of World
War II, Leger had moved to the United States where he
worked as an art instructor. He taught at both Yale
University and Mills College in California, but returned
to France in 1945. |
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Ballet Costume Design
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From 1949 until his
death in 1955, Leger worked out of his studio and
workshop that he opened with his former student Robert
Brice. During this time, he created mosaics, book
illustrations, stained glass window decorations, and
even ceramic sculptures. |
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Two Women Holding Flowers
The Birds
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Today, Leger's work is
housed in modern art museums around the world,
especially in the museum which bears his name in France.
During his lifetime, he exhibited and traveled fairly
extensively, showing his work at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York in 1935, and frequently at the Paris
salons. Still wondering about a unique cubist painting
hanging in your home? Contact usÉit could be by Fernand
Leger. |
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