Fernand Léger

Estate of the artist (no. 5)
Nadia Léger (acquired from the above and until at least 1957)
Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (by at least 1980)
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Paris, Galerie Mai, Fernand Léger, oeuvres récentes, 1940
Stockholm, Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet, Retrospektiv Utställning Fernand Léger, 1948, no. 33
Paris, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Fernand Léger, 1949, no. 70
Copenhagen, Kunstforeningen, Fernand Léger, 1951, no. 20
Berlin, Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Berliner Festwochen, Werke französischer Meister der Gegenwart, 1952, no. 28
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs; Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Fernand Léger, 1956, no. 98
Munich, Haus der Kunst, Fernand Léger 1881-1955, 1957, no. 83
Dortmund, Museum am Ostwall, Fernand Léger 1881-1955, 1957, no. 27
Zurich, Kunsthaus, Fernand Léger, 1957, no. 97
Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Fernand Léger 1881-1955, 1964, no. 65
Marseille, Musée Cantini, Fernand Léger, 1966, no. 61
Tel-Aviv, Museum of Tel-Aviv, H. Rubenstein Pavillion, Fernand Léger, 1881-1955, 1967, no. 21
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, F. Léger, 1969, no. 38
Milan, Galleria Il Milione, Fernand Léger. Olii, guazzi, lavis, disegni, 1969-70, no. 10
London, The Waddington Galleries, Fernand Léger, 1970, no. 38
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Das Stilleben im 20. Jahrhundert, 1978-79, no. 59
Berlin, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Fernand Léger, 1980-81, no. 93
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, F. Léger 1881-1981, 1981, no. 33
Biot, Musée National Fernand Léger, Hommage à Fernand Léger 1881-1955. Exposition du centenaire, 1981, no. 76
Madrid, Fundación Juan March, Fernand Léger, 1983, no. 24
Düsseldorf, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, ...und nicht die leiseste Spur einer Vorschrift Positionen unabhängiger Kunst in Europa um 1937, 1987-88, no. 60
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Magic Blue, 1993-94, no. 47
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Fernand Léger, Werke 1925-55, 1994-95, no. 19

Jean Painlevé, 'A propos d'un nouveau réalisme chez Fernand Léger', in Cahiers d'Art, Paris, 1940, illustrated pp. 3 & 4, illustrated
Maurice Jardot, Léger, Paris, 1956, illustrated pl. 13
René Jullian, Fernand Léger, Basel, 1969, no. 47, illustrated
Hommage à Fernand Léger, Paris, 1971, illustrated p. 61
Georges Bauquier, Fernand Léger, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 1938-1943, Paris, 1998, no. 1061, illustrated p. 133
Carolyn Lanchner, Fernand Léger (exhibition catalogue), Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1998, illustrated p. 145

The aesthetic that Léger adopted in the late 1930s came about as a response to the political atmosphere in Europe at the time.   His commitment to abstraction reflected his political ideals, as he believed that Cubism endowed the object with social value and promoted the idea of a universal language.   As he explained to an interviewer, "Painting takes on a social character in basing itself on the object.  Painting becomes accessible to everyone and can be used in schools, in stadiums, in public monuments, etc."  (quoted in Carolyn Lanchner, Fernand Léger (exhibition catalogue), Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1998, p. 139). 

Léger's paintings from the late 1930s reflect his interest in the mechanical object, photography, and pure color. Nature morte aux fruits au fond bleu reveals Léger's concerns with color and the manipulation of space. In this painting, the artist has reinterpreted the classical still-life theme using Cubist techniques.  He has eliminated any sense of perspective by flattening out the picture plane and designating the objects with bright, primary hues and black outline, projecting them onto a continuous blue surface.  As a result, Léger's still-life defies a sense of gravity and transcends the earth-bound nature of the actual subject.