Lot Essay
Around 1920 Léger's development moved from a mechanical to a classical figure style culminating in the monumental Grand Déjeuner now in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, which Léger considered to be one of his three best works. In the same year as Le Grand Déjeuner he also painted a sister piece, Le Petit Déjeuner, formerly in the Tremaine Collection and sold by Christie's on 5 November 1991. The creation of these two paintings, particularly as Léger introduced a third figure into the composition, engendered an important body of work to which the present watercolour belongs. Christopher Green writes: "The introduction of two new figures in the place of the standing nude coupled with the intricate remodelling of the surrounding scaffold, created so many fresh pictorial possibilities that Léger felt himself compelled to launch into a long series of fresh investigations before attempting a further large-scale definitive statement". (Léger and the Avant-Garde, New Haven and London, 1976, p. 227)
Georges Bauquier of the Musée Léger, Biot, has kindly confirmed the authenticity of this work
Georges Bauquier of the Musée Léger, Biot, has kindly confirmed the authenticity of this work