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FERNAND LÉGER | L'Équipe
Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Fernand Léger
- L'Équipe
- Signed with the initials F.L and dated 44 (lower right)
- Gouache on tracing paper laid down on card
- 14 by 20 in.
- 35.6 by 50.8 cm
- Executed in 1944.
Provenance
Louis Carré, New York
Doris Rubin, New York (acquired from the above in 1966 and sold by the estate: Sotheby's, New York, May 8, 2008, lot 161)
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, Paris, June 3, 2015, lot 18)
Private Collection, Europe (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above
Doris Rubin, New York (acquired from the above in 1966 and sold by the estate: Sotheby's, New York, May 8, 2008, lot 161)
Private Collection (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, Paris, June 3, 2015, lot 18)
Private Collection, Europe (acquired at the above sale)
Acquired from the above
Literature
Jean Cassou & Jean Leymarie, Fernand Léger, Dessins et gouaches, nouvelle édition, 2012, no. 10-612, http://www.legerdessinsetgouaches.com/tableaux/l-equipe (accessed on March 30, 2019)
Condition
Executed on tracing paper, laid down on cardboard. Apart from some light creasing to the sheet and some flaking in the white pigment, this work is in overall good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
The present work is one of a series of studies Léger created around 1944 for his work La Belle Equipe. The inspiration behind this subject was a film by the French director Julien Duvivier, which was released in 1936 and shared the same title. The socialist message of the film centers around cooperative workers who transcend their individual interests to create a harmonious and effective community.
This work is a representation of this vision of communal harmony, the relaxed poses and easy interaction between the figures suggesting a mutually supportive social order. Léger believed art was a progressive influence on the evolution of society, and sought to project a vision of an idealized society in which the individual has embraced an egalitarian social order. The interlocking composition of this work, in which the spokes of cycles, the limbs of the figures and the branches of the trees seem intertwined, is symbolic of the integration of nature, the individual and industrialized society in Léger's progressive, socialist future.
This work is a representation of this vision of communal harmony, the relaxed poses and easy interaction between the figures suggesting a mutually supportive social order. Léger believed art was a progressive influence on the evolution of society, and sought to project a vision of an idealized society in which the individual has embraced an egalitarian social order. The interlocking composition of this work, in which the spokes of cycles, the limbs of the figures and the branches of the trees seem intertwined, is symbolic of the integration of nature, the individual and industrialized society in Léger's progressive, socialist future.