Fernand Leger

A preeminent member of the cubist movement, Fernand Léger was born on February 4, 1881 in Argentan, France to a family of cattle farmers that did not approve of his artistic pursuits. He worked as an architectural apprentice in Caen, and he moved to Paris in 1900 where he began his art career. He attended classes at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian. He was originally influenced by Impressionism, but after seeing the Paul Cézanne retrospective at the Salon d’Automne in 1907 he began to experiment with cubism. As his work became increasingly abstract, he began to work only in primary colors and black and white. In 1912, he had his first solo exhibition at Galerie Kahnweiler in Paris.

Léger served in World War I, from 1914-1917, and during this time he continued to hone his artistic style and developed his “mechanical” period which he continued upon his discharge. He also became associated with the Purist movement and artists Amédée Ozenfant and Le Corbusier. In 1935, the Museum of Modern Art and The Art Institute of Chicago presented the first exhibitions of his work in the United States. During World War II, he lived in the United States, but he returned to France in 1945. In the later years of his life, he began to take on larger scale works including murals. He died on August 17, 1955 in Gif-sur-Yvette, France. His works are held in many prominent institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tate Gallery and the Albertina.

Available Works