Fernand Leger
Fernand Léger (1881 - 1955) was a French painter who was known for his contribution to the Cubist movement. Léger had been painting in a style that mixed Impressionism with...
Fernand Léger (1881 - 1955) was a French painter who was known for his contribution to the Cubist movement. Léger had been painting in a style that mixed Impressionism with Fauvism prior to his move in 1908 to an art settlement in the Montparnasse area of Paris. Under the influence of his new environment and acquaintances that included Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, he abandoned the Impressionist/Fauvist style for a more Cubist one. After serving in the military during World War I, Léger was deeply influenced by modern industrial technology. He developed “machine art,” which is a style characterized by boldly colored monumental mechanistic forms. Léger artistic pursuits did not stop at painting, starting in the 1920’s he experimented with other media. In 1926 he devised, directed, and produced The Mechanical Ballet, a non-narrative film with photography by Man Ray. He also designed sets for ballets and motion pictures, and he created mosaics and stained-glass windows. Léger’s work resides in museums worldwide, such as The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tate Gallery in London, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and the Albertina in Vienna.