{"product_id":"composition-by-fernand-leger","title":"Composition by Fernand Léger","description":"Fernand Léger\u003cbr\u003e 1881–1955 | French \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cem\u003eComposition\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Signed \"F. LEGER\" and dated \"40–42\" (lower right)\u003cbr\u003e Oil on canvas \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Fernand Léger’s bold colors and powerful forms are among the most recognizable in modern art. This monumental work, \u003cem\u003eComposition\u003c\/em\u003e, brings these defining qualities together in a painting of commanding presence. Dated 1940–1942, the canvas belongs to the years of his wartime exile in America, when new surroundings expanded the visual language he had developed in France. More than four feet high, it combines Léger’s iconic primary palette with branching forms that fill the canvas. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alongside contemporaries Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Robert Delaunay, Léger helped reshape the course of modern painting. He developed a distinctive approach to Cubism, building compositions from cylindrical volumes, contrasting shapes and increasingly abstract arrangements. His fascination with machinery and the rhythms of urban life gave his work a particular identity: a vision of modernity expressed through bold color and forms of architectural strength. In \u003cem\u003eComposition\u003c\/em\u003e, that structural language meets the freer, organic shapes that became prominent during his American years. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Léger arrived in the United States in 1940 after fleeing occupied France. Already familiar with America through earlier visits, he now encountered the country as an exile, with time to travel and explore its landscapes. The vast terrain and unfamiliar vegetation offered fresh possibilities for an artist long fascinated by the contrasts of modern life. \u003cem\u003eComposition\u003c\/em\u003e belongs to this consequential chapter, when organic shapes assumed a prominent place alongside the structural clarity of his earlier work. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The painting’s visual force begins with a sweeping red form that rises through its center. Its branches reach across a blue upright and yellow shapes, each defined by broad black contours. White openings punctuate the composition, while a pale pink ground sets the saturated colors into relief. The forms evoke trunks and limbs, yet remain deliberately abstract. Their interlocking curves and verticals give the painting both movement and architectural strength. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The work’s history adds to its significance. \u003cem\u003eComposition\u003c\/em\u003e remained in Léger’s estate until at least 1957 and later passed through Galerie Louise Leiris in Paris. It appeared in Léger exhibitions in Munich, Basel and Zürich in 1957, followed by Documenta III in 1964 and further exhibitions in Copenhagen, Marseille, Düsseldorf and other cities. Illustrated in published scholarship and recorded as no. 1077 in Georges Bauquier’s catalogue raisonné, the painting has an extensive documentary record. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Dated 1940–1942 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Canvas: 50 1\/2\" high x 37 3\/8\" wide (128.3 x 94.9 cm)\u003cbr\u003e Frame: 60 7\/8\" high x 47 5\/8\" wide x 2 1\/2\" deep (154.6 x 121.0 x 6.4 cm) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/rau-sfimages.s3.amazonaws.com\/dossier\/Dossier_32-3236.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eView the Dossier\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Provenance:\u003cbr\u003e The artist’s estate until at least 1957\u003cbr\u003e Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris, by 1964 until at least 1967\u003cbr\u003e Waddington Gallery, London\u003cbr\u003e Private collection, Montreal\u003cbr\u003e Private collection, Europe\u003cbr\u003e M.S. Rau, New Orleans \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Literature:\u003cbr\u003e W. Haftmann, \u003cem\u003ePainting in the Twentieth Century\u003c\/em\u003e, vol. I, New York, 1960, p. 2 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e W. Haftmann, \u003cem\u003ePainting in the Twentieth Century\u003c\/em\u003e, vol. II, London, 1965, p. 198 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e S. Fauchereau, “Fernand Léger, Paris,” in \u003cem\u003eLes grands maîtres de l’art contemporain\u003c\/em\u003e, Barcelona, 1994, no. 97 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e G. Bauquier, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger: Catalogue raisonné\u003c\/em\u003e, 1938–1943, Paris, 1998, no. 1077, p. 152 (illustrated p. 153) \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Exhibited:\u003cbr\u003e Munich, Haus der Kunst, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, March–May 1957, no. 86\u003cbr\u003e Basel, Kunsthalle, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, May–June 1957, no. 75\u003cbr\u003e Zürich, Kunsthaus, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, July–August 1957, no. 99\u003cbr\u003e Copenhagen, Charlottenborg, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger: Maler, tegninger og grafik\u003c\/em\u003e, autumn 1959, no. 31 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e Kassel, Alte Galerie, \u003cem\u003eDocumenta III\u003c\/em\u003e, June–October 1964, no. 4, p. 68 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e Marseille, Musée Cantini, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, June–September 1966, no. 63 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e Tel Aviv, Musée, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, 1967, no. 22\u003cbr\u003e Düsseldorf, Städtische Kunsthalle, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, December 1969–February 1970, no. 80 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e Montauban, Musée Ingres, \u003cem\u003eFernand Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, June–September 1977, no. 17, p. 16 (illustrated)\u003cbr\u003e Montreal, Landau Fine Art, \u003cem\u003ePicasso + Léger\u003c\/em\u003e, November–December 1991, p. 10 (illustrated p. 11)","brand":"M.S. Rau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46063277310087,"sku":"32-3236","price":2850000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0083\/2471\/0466\/files\/32-3236_1_6dace886-d416-4f4d-994b-c47b5154a636.png?v=1791314453","url":"https:\/\/rauantiques.com\/products\/composition-by-fernand-leger","provider":"M.S. Rau","version":"1.0","type":"link"}