Figure

Writing in 1950, Léger expounded the same importance of line, colour and form as he had in 1913: 'The plastic life, the picture, is made up of harmonious relationships among volumes, lines, and colours. These are the three forces that must govern works of art. If, in organizing these three essential elements harmoniously, one finds that objects, elements of reality, can enter into the composition, it may be better and give the work more richness. But they must be subordinated to the three essential elements mentioned above' (quoted in exh. cat. Fernand Léger, New York, 1998, p. 247).

In the present work, Léger has allowed his blocks of unbroken colour, so often used boldly to articulate the separate elements of his composition, to break out of the confines of the composition and to become almost abstract. In this way they become an integral part of the composition itself, both defining and contrasting the black and white form of the face and hand. This expressive and bold treatment of colour was to find its apotheosis in the monumental La Grande Parade of 1954 (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York).