THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE FRENCH COLLECTOR LOTS 234-243 The following works are preparatory studies which Léger exectued in gouache, pencil, indian ink and oil for Roland Brice, an alumni of the Paris Beaux Arts school. Brice had visited Léger's studio in 1936 and following the advice of his friend, André Verdet, had set up his own sculpture and ceramic studio in Biot (Alpes Maritimes). He didn't imagine when he first met Léger, how well they would come to work together. In 1949, Roland Brice began to translate Léger's drawings and motifs, from his most celebrated themes, into three dimensional sculptures. The following year, Léger cemented their deep friendship and artistic collaboration by moving himself to Biot. Here Léger was able to provide direct input as well as the much needed financial support necessary to renovate the atelier's ovens and other relevant equipment. Assisted by his son, Claude, Brice developed a technique to create life-size terracotta maquettes from preparatory gouaches. These bare maquettes were then painted by Léger in different patterns of colour. Even in Léger's absence, their collaboration continued: Brice would send photographs of the terracotta casts to Léger, who would carefully colour them in before posting them back. The following collection of works were all given by Léger to the Brice family, upon completion of each project.

Fernand Léger (1881-1955)

Portrait de la femme au bouquet

Details

Fernand Léger (1881-1955)
Portrait de la femme au bouquet
signed with initials 'F.L' (lower right)
gouache on tracing paper
12 x 10¼ in. (30.5 x 25.8cm.)

Provenance

Roland Brice, Biot, a gift from the artist circa 1955, and thence by descent to Claude Brice, the previous owner.

Lot Essay

To be included in the forthcoming Léger sculptures polychromes catalogue raisonné currently being prepared by Jean-Pierre Camard as the preparatory work for the ceramic of the same subject.

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