A painter as well as a filmmaker, illustrator, stage-set designer, ceramicist and printmaker, Fernand Léger was one of the most prolific artists of the first half of the 20th century. His early mature work as a Cubist was marked by the use of bold colors and contrasts and a visual vocabulary inspired by industrial technology. In his later career, Léger turned to idiomatic, almost naïve depictions of human figures, in a belief that his work should be accessible to ordinary people and relevant to their lives.
Born in Normandy, the son of a cattle trader, Léger worked as an architectural draftsman in Paris while studying art. By 1908 he was a member of an artistic circle that included Marc Chagall, Robert Delaunay, sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, and the poet Guillaume Appolinaire, and through them he became connected to the Cubists. As opposed to the flat planes and neutral hues seen in the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, Léger’s Cubist abstractions were devised with vivid colors and forms that had dimensionality. Soon after his army service in World War I — he was gassed at the Battle of Verdun — Léger entered his “mechanical” period. Convinced that technology would improve the human condition, he painted compositions of tubular shapes and cylinders that are reminiscent of machine parts. In other work, Léger sought to capture the bustle and brio of modern life with references to railroad stations, factories, street signs and billboards.
Léger had also emerged from the trenches with a deep concern to make his art engage the sorts of men and women he had met during the war. He sought to bring his work to a wider audience through film, theater sets and book illustrations. In the 1920s, influenced by Purism — a variant on Cubism that promoted a simpler and more direct approach to forms and compositions — Léger produced a series of paintings depicting everyday objects: a soda siphon, an accordion, a guitar and vase. The human figure returned to his work. By 1930, pure abstraction disappeared almost completely from Léger’s art in favor of simple studies of people. Their boldly outlined forms, placed against a bright background, can be regarded as an assemblage of parts — yet in these representations of dancers, acrobats and folks on bicycles, Léger seems to be articulating a kind of kinship and affection. You will see from the works on offer why Fernand Léger is often regarded as the warmest and most humane of the great modern artists.
Find a collection of original Fernand Léger art today on 1stDibs.
$30,000
Le Toit
By Fernand Léger
Located in New York, NY
Gouache and watercolor on paper, 1950. Initialed by the artist "FL" and dated "50" lower right. Exhibition History: Blue Moon Gallery/Lerner-Heller Gallery, New York, "An intimate ...
Gouache, Watercolor
$1,650
H 10.75 in W 24.75 in
Bird Abstraction Gouache Painting, Mid-Century Modern, Signed, 1953
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Stephen Harty, Untitled (Bird Abstraction), gouache, 1953. Signed and dated lower left. A fine, meticulously rendered, mid-century, modernist gouache painting, with fresh colors on 1...
Gouache
King of Swords by Salvador Dalí
By Salvador Dalí
Located in New Orleans, LA
Salvador Dalí 1904-1989 Spanish King of Swords Signed “Dalí” (lower center) Gouache on photographic background This unique gouache by Surrealist master Salvador Dalí combines the...
Gouache, Photographic Paper
1950s "Rectangle" Mid Century Abstract Gouache Painting
Located in Arp, TX
Opper Estate Maroon Abstract c. 1940-1950's Gouache on Paper 15" x 18" Unframed From the estate of Ruth Friedmann Opper & Jerry Opper. Ruth was the daughter of Bauhaus artist, Gustav Friedmann. San Francisco Abstract Expression A free-spirited wave of creative energy swept through the San Francisco art community after World War II. Challenging accepted modes of painting, Abstract Expressionists produced highly experimental works that jolted the public out of its postwar complacency. Abstract Expressionism resulted from a broad collective impulse rather than the inspiration of a small band of New York artists. Documenting the interchanges between the East and West Coasts, she cites areas of mutual influence and shows the impact of San Francisco on the New York School, including artists such as Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt. San Francisco's Beat poets...
Paper, Gouache
$1,800
H 42.25 in W 24 in D 0.75 in
"Torso No. 12" Early Modern Pink & Gold Pair of Abstract Female Figure Painting
Located in Houston, TX
Early modern pink and gold pair of abstract female figure paintings by Mexican artist Arnaldo Coen. The work features two separate paintings of feminine torsos framed vertically on t...
Pastel, Acrylic, Gouache, Paper
$1,200
H 23 in W 18 in
Chicago Modernist Gouache Painting Shabbat Hebrew Calligraphy WPA Artist Judaica
By Alexander Raymond Katz
Located in Surfside, FL
A Judaica painting with Hebrew Calligraphy by noted Chicago Modernist. Alexander Raymond Katz (his Hungarian first name, Sandor, was anglicized to Alexander) was born in Kassa, Hunga...
Gouache
“Abstract #7”
By Martin Rosenthal
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil paint on heavy archival paper abstract by the American artist, Martin Rosenthal. Bold, vibrant colors. Signed lower right by the artist and dated 1965. Condition is goo...
Archival Paper, Gouache, Oil
$190,000
H 29.5 in W 21.5 in
Worms and Sun, American Modern Gouache and Watercolor on Paper, 1963
By Alexander Calder
Located in New York, NY
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) American, Lawnton, PA - New York, NY “Worms and Sun” 1963 Gouache and watercolor and paper 29 ½ x 21 ½ in. unframed 36 ⅞ x 27 ⅞ in. framed Signed and da...
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
$1,200
H 17.75 in W 24 in
Bold Color French Modernist Painting 1958 Signed Aldo Abstract Still Life
Located in Surfside, FL
Mid century modern art with inscription in french verso. It was traded with another artist.
Paper, Oil, Gouache
“Abstract #5”
By Martin Rosenthal
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil paint and gouache on heavy archival textured paper abstract by the American artist, Martin Rosenthal. Bold, vibrant colors. Signed lower right by the artist and dated 1...
Oil, Archival Paper, Gouache
$1,800
H 22.5 in W 30 in
1950s "Purple Sky Landscape" Mid Century Abstract Landscape Painting
By Donald Stacy
Located in Arp, TX
Bearnice Fisher "Purple Sky Landscape" 1978 Gouache on paper 30" x 22.5" unframed Signed and dated lower right in pencil Bearnice Fisher lived and worked in NYC
Paper, Gouache
$15,000
H 17.5 in W 15 in D 2 in
Ceri Richards - Lyre Bird (Design for cover of Poetry London), 1943 mixed media
Located in New York, NY
Ceri Richards Lyre Bird (Design for the cover of Poetry London), 1943 Ink, gouache and pastel on paper Bears original Jonathan Clark & Co. label on the back of the frame Unique Fram...
Oil Pastel, Ink, Gouache, Mixed Media
Abstract Landscape with Palm Tree Judaica Gouache Painting
By Mane Katz
Located in Surfside, FL
Mane-Katz (1894-1962) Landscape with palm tree. Gouache on paper, signed lower right. Dimensions: (Frame) H 37.5" x W 31", (Sight) H 24.5" x W 18" Emmanuel Mané-Katz (Hebrew:מאנה כ...
Gouache
Architectural Composition
By Fernand Léger
Located in Austin, TX
By Fernand Léger Medium: Mixed Media on Paper Size: 28" x 21" Framed Size: 39.25" x 32" An glorious example of a Master Cubist, Fernand Léger, featuring bold primaries and stately s...
Archival Paper, Gouache
Étude pour Gaz de France
By Fernand Léger
Located in London, GB
Sight size: 38.5 x 49 cm (15 ½ x 19 ⅛ inches) Sheet size: 52 x 76 cm (20 ½ x 29 ⅜ inches) Signed with the estate monogram stamp, F.L. This work is accompanied by a photo certif...
Gouache, Mixed Media, Paper