Artist research: Fernand Leger

"Fernand Léger was born in the Argentan, Orne, Basse-Normandie, where his father raised cattle. He initially trained as an architect from 1897-1899 before moving in 1900 to Paris, where he supported himself as an architectural draftsman. After military service in Versailles in 1902-1903, he enrolled at the School of Decorative Arts. The "mechanical" works Léger painted in the 1920s, in their formal clarity as well as in their subject matter—the mother and child, the female nude, figures in an ordered landscape—are typical of the post-war "return to order" in the arts". (source 1)

Cirque 1881 - 1955

"Along with Picasso, Braque, and Gris, Fernand Léger ranks among the foremost Cubist painters. By 1912, he had developed his own adaptation of Cubism. Utilizing pure color, he simplified the forms in his pictures into geometric components of the cone, cube, and sphere, leaving their contours unbroken". (source 2)

The Bargeman, 1918

I really like the modernist cubist style that has been used. One of the elements that I think is most effective is the style of the brushstroke. The way the brush has been employed gives the impression metallic sheen that looks like it could act as a reflective surface. The colours used are also interesting, the main theme is white but there are injections of other vivid colours such as yellow, reds green, and black all of which contrast well. Even though the shapes are simple and geometric it conveys a mechanical style that I think is fascinating. The cylinder shapes convey ideas of pipes/ tubing, or even as a container for energy.

Les Pistons, 1918

The above image is one of my favourite that Fernand Léger has created. The main reason why I am drawn to this image is for its futurist look. Even though it contains lots of different shapes, sizes and colours, it still has a certain minimalist feel to it. The colours and shading used really gives this image of a real sense of depth. The blue shapes and pipes appear to be hovering over the background. Looking at this picture from a certain angle I can almost see a face beginning to appear- and that’s what’s so appealing about it. The fact that a different perspective can create a different image, even change the meaning. This is defiantly something that I would like to relate to in my design.

Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand_Leger (source 1)
  
• www.metmuseum.org/toah/ hd/cube/ho_1999.363.35.htm (source 2)