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.
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Statuette au Vase Jaune, painting by Fernand Leger c.1949
By Fernand Léger
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Fernand Leger, French (1881 - 1955) Title: Statuette au Vase Jaune Year: circa 1949 Medium: Gouache on Paper, dedicated (a Nicole) l.r. Size: 5 x 5 ...
Gouache
Basketball Player
By Ben Shahn
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Basketball Player Gouache on card stock, c. 1940 Signed by the artist in ink lower center A study for the fresco mural in the Social Security Buildin...
Gouache
$9,500
H 20 in W 22 in
House Beautiful Cover Proposal. American Scene Social Realism Industrial WPA
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
House Beautiful Cover Proposal. American Scene Social Realism Industrial WPA Antonio Petruccelli (1907 – 1994) Mixing Mortar 12 1/2 X 14 3/4 inche...
Gouache, Board
1950s "Pink Towel 2" Mid Century Nude Gouache Painting
Located in Arp, TX
From the estate of Jerry Opper & Ruth Friedman Opper Yellow c. 1950's Gouache on Paper 15" x 18", Unframed *Custom framing available for additional charge. Please expect framing time between 3-5 weeks. 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
$18,000
H 26 in W 33 in
"Union Square" NYC American Scene Social Realism Modernism WPA Mid-20th Century
By Agnes Hart
Located in New York, NY
"Union Square" NYC American Scene Social Realism Modernism WPA Mid-20th Century Agnes Hart (American, 1912-1979) "Union Square, New York City" Sight: 14 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches Gouache...
Gouache, Board
$14,000
H 20 in W 17 in
Bricklayers House Beautiful Cover Proposal American Scene Modern 1930s Workers
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Bricklayers House Beautiful Cover Proposal American Scene Modern WPA 1930s Industrial Workers Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Brick Layers House Beautiful cover proposal, c. 1939 ...
Gouache, Board
$780Sale Price|40% Off
H 20 in W 23 in D 0.5 in
1950s "Orange Nude Lounging" Mid Century Figurative Painting Pratt Graphic Arts
By Donald Stacy
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "Orange Nude Lounging" c.1950s Oil pastel and gouache paint on paper 23" x 20" framed black gallery wood frame float mount Unsigned Came from artist's estate Donald Stacy (1925-2008) New Jersey Studied: Newark School of Fine Art The Art Students League Pratt Graphic Arts Center University of Paris 1953-54 University of Aix-en-Provence 1954-55 Faculty: Art Department of the New School Museum of Modern Art School of Visual Arts Stacy Studio Workshop Exhibitions: Grand Central Moderns George Wittenborn The New School Print Exhibitions, Chicago University of Oklahoma Honolulu Museum Monclair Museum Wisconsin State College Louisiana Art...
Paper, Gouache, Oil Pastel
$14,000
H 20 in W 16 in
Original Painting. New Yorker Mag Cover Proposal WPA Mid Century American Scene
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting. New Yorker Mag Cover Proposal WPA Mid Century American Scene Antonio Petruccelli (1907 – 1994) Perplexed Gentleman New Yorker cover proposal, c. 1939 13 1/4 X 8 ...
Gouache, Board
$14,000
H 19 in W 15 in
Original Painting. New Yorker Cover Proposal Baseball c. 1939 Modern Cubist Deco
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting. New Yorker Cover Proposal Baseball c. 1939 Modern Cubist Deco Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Play Ball New Yorker cover proposal, c. 1939 12 x 8 inches (sight) Framed 18 1/2 X 14 3/4 inches Gouache on board Estate sticker verso BIOGRAPHY: Antonio Petruccelli (1907-1994) began his career as a textile designer. He became a freelance illustrator in 1932 after winning several House Beautiful cover illustration contests. In addition to 24 Fortune magazine covers, four New Yorker covers, several for House Beautiful, Collier’s, and other magazines he did numerous illustrations for Life magazine from the 1930s – 60s. ‘Tony was Mr. Versatility for Fortune. He could do anything, from charts and diagrams to maps, illustrations, covers, and caricatures,’ said Francis Brennan, the former art director for Fortune. Over the course of his career, Antonio won several important design awards, designing a U.S. Postage Stamp Commemorating the Steel Industry and designing the Bicentennial Medal...
Gouache, Board
$14,000
H 28 in W 22 in
Original Painting Steel Workers Fabric Design Industrial Deco American Modernism
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting Steel Workers Fabric Design Industrial Deco American Modernism Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Steel Workers Textile design 19 1/4 X ...
Gouache, Board
$1,000
H 34.65 in W 18.9 in D 0.12 in
Original 70's Hand Painted Textile Design Gouache Pink & Black Color on Paper
Located in ALCOY/ALCOI, ES
Flowers and pixel design. Sealed on the back with design studio name and number 268 We offer a small number of these original illustration designs by this design studio based in Alc...
Paper, Gouache
$14,000
H 18 in W 14 in
Original Painting New Yorker Cover Proposal American Scene Modern Santa's Feet
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Original Painting New Yorker Cover Proposal American Scene Modern Santa's Feet Antonio Petruccelli (1907 - 1994) Santas Feet At Midnight New Yorker c...
Gouache, Board
$4,400
H 21 in W 26 in D 2 in
Glassblowers WPA American Scene Mid- 20th Century Modern Figurative Workers 1932
By Harry Gottlieb
Located in New York, NY
Glassblowers WPA American Scene Mid- 20th Century Modern Figurative Workers. Dated and signed "32 Harry Gottlieb" lower right. Sight: 13 1/8" H x 18 1/4" W. Harry Gottlieb, painter, screenprinter, educator, and lithographer, was born in Bucharest, Rumania. He emigrated to America in 1907, and his family settled in Minneapolis. From 1915 to 1917, Gottlieb attended the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. After a short stint as an illustrator for the U.S. Navy, Gottlieb moved to New York City; he became a scenic and costume designer for Eugene O"Neill's Provincetown Theater Group. He also studied at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and the National Academy of Design. He was one of America's first Social Realist painters, influenced by that Robert Henri-led movement in New York City where Gottlieb settled in 1918. He was also a pioneer in screen printing, which he learned while working for the WPA. He married Eugenie Gershoy, and the couple joined the artist colony at Woodstock, New York. He lectured widely on art education. In 1923, Gottlieb settled in Woodstock, New York and in 1931, spent a a year abroad studying under a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1935, he joined the Federal Art Project...
Paper, Gouache