Fernand Léger lived from Feb 4,1881 to Aug 17, 1955. Léger was born in Normandy into a poor family. By 1900, he traveled to Paris to work as an architectural draftsman. In Paris, he rented a small studio with various other artists. During this time, his artwork was heavily influenced by Cubism and through this, he created his own form of art, “machine art”. This was an art form used geometric shapes to express figures. When World War I started, he served as a military engineer. During his service, he was concerned with making art available for the working class.
I chose Three Women which is an oil artwork on canvas. In this artwork, there are three females that are drawn in a geometric way. He uses minimal curves, which eliminates the feel of the women being real. Another interesting aspect to the painting is that the females portrayed in the painting are dismembered. The two grey colored women look discombobulated. The black cat in the back is the only realistic figure that closely resembles real life in the painting. The colors that he uses are also nude except for the yellow cushion, red table and green floor. In the background, it looks like the women are inside but it’s unclear as to what the different objects in the back are.
This canvas reflects several characteristics on Modernism. First, the women are dismembered, which added an abstract feature to the painting. This evokes an uncomfortable feeling in the audience. Léger was heavily influenced by Cubism and we can tell from the painting. The females are not drawn with realistic curvy lines but in strong, solid geometric shapes. An example would be the necks of the females. The necks are drawn in a cylinder form. The knee cap of the tan colored female in a circle. Another aspect of Modernism is being abstract. In a sense, the background of the painting is abstract. It looks like the artist put different rectangular sizes together.
When I entered this specific room, I saw two of Picasso’s work, Three Musicians and Three Women at the Spring. But what made Léger’s work stand out was the use of geometric shapes. Léger’s work is next to Picasso’s, but the difference is that I find Léger’s work more interesting to look at. Both artists were exploring the topic of nudity. However, the way Léger portrayed it left more room for audience interpretation. I think a huge part of art is being able to interpret what you see. When you visit an art gallery with a friend, your different opinions are going to spark a conversation and for me, listening to other people’s interpretations adds more value to the art.