Lithograph, 1954

Edition : 59/75

Publisher : Galerie Louise Leiris (Paris)

Printer : Mourlot (Paris)

Catalog : Saphire 138

50.00 cm. x 65.00 cm. | 19.69 in. x 25.59 in. (paper)

44.00 cm. x 56.00 cm. | 17.32 in. x 22.05 in. (image)

Fernand Léger (1881-1955) was one of the earliest painters of Cubism in the early 20th century. A particular cubism, often called "tubism", in reference to the tubular forms that characterized his motifs. In 1925, he exhibited in the pavilion of L'Esprit Nouveau built by Le Corbusier, during the memorable International Exhibition in Paris. His fame is made.
The lithograph we propose represents tree trunks. A recurrent pattern in the artist's work. He seized it from his period tubist in the 1910’s. In the 30s, he added the motif of the roots, with rounded and flexible forms like lianas.
The lithograph we propose dates from 1954 but the prototype, if one can say so, dates from 1952.
This was a period of intense creativity for Léger, who made about twenty lithographs between 1948 and 1955, the date of his death. Fernand Léger was faithful to the Mourlot workshop in Paris because his printers were perfectly aware of the artist's requirements for the exact rendering of colors.
Here, they match perfectly: the yellow underlines the surrounding motifs of the logs, very stylized and almost "abstracted", green and brown. But you can see in these trunks forms close to the metal beams represented in the many works of Léger touching on the theme of the construction of buildings.
In the left part, the brown shape fits into a kind of black beam, like a mechanical assembly. This is what interests Léger: assembling forms, composing a harmonious whole. Here, the goal is reached, with something that would remind of the solidity of a framework.
The work of hatching and guilloche, adds a nice nervous touch, as if done with a pen and Indian ink. Léger completes the composition by adding long gray touches on the "black beams" which recalls the reflections of light on metal tubes, and thus a volume, which reminds us how close lithography is to the technique of painting.

Certificate of authenticity
Excellent condition
Handsigned by the artist in pencil

Ref : LCD4690