Fernand Léger

Sale: Sotheby's, London, 21 October 1998, lots 222 (no. 3), 223 (no. 2), 225 (no. 6), 230 (no. 4), 231 (no. 1), 233 (no. 5), 236 (no. 10), 239 (no. 9) and 242 (no. 8)
Acquired at the above sale and sold : Sotheby's, New York, 20 November 2007, lot 30
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

1. Executed on white wove paper, not laid down, the sheet is mounted in four transparent plastic corners. There is a vertical flattened cress running down the centre with an associated 3.5 cm repaired tear to the centre of the upper edge. There are 4 other 1cm nicks to the upper edge and some artists pinholes at the top & bottom of the composition. Mounting tape is visible in the corners. Some tiny spots of foxing towards the lower right corner, otherwise stable condition. 2. Executed in brown wove paper laid down on thick cream paper, the sheet is mounted in four transparent plastic corners. Four pieces of old tape are visible on the reverse. There is a roughly 15cm curved repaired tear in the lower left quadrant and a diagonal 10cm surface tear to the brown paper in the upper right quadrant (before the work was laid down). There are some minor losses and nicks along the four edges, otherwise the work remains in stable condition. 3. Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, the sheet is mounted in four transparent plastic corners. Mounting tape is visible along the upper and lower edges. Very good original condition. 4. Executed on cream wove paper, floating in the mount, fixed at several points towards the edges. There is a waviness to the sheet and there are a few minor paintlosses on the diagonal right edge of the bed. Otherwise this work is in very good original condition. 5. Executed on brown wove paper, not laid down, the sheet is mounted in four transparent plastic corners, numbered No.G 174-3B, titled Bolivar etude and dated 49 on the reverse. There are losses associated with large artists pinholes in the upper corners and a 2.5 cm vertical tear to the upper edge 14 cm from the upper right corner. There are small nicks to the left and lower edges and the lower corners are missing. A vertical crease runs 3.5 cm from the left edge. The right edge is uneven and mounting tape is visible at the bottom. Otherwise stable condition. 6. Executed on white wove paper, not laid down, the sheet is mounted in four transparent plastic corners, numbered No.G 178 on the reverse in pencil. There are artists pinholes in the upper corners and four pieces of old tape on the reverse. There is a small, repaired loss in the upper right corner, otherwise this work is in good condition. 7. Executed on grey/white wove paper, not laid down, the sheet is mounted in four transparent plastic corners and numbered No.G.180-3 and titled Bolivar etude on the reverse. There are artists pinholes in the upper corners and some flattened creases on the right. Four pieces of old tape are visible on the reverse, otherwise this work is in good original condition. 8. Executed on buff wove paper, not laid down, fixed to the mount in the corners. The upper edge is uneven and bears a stamp in the centre. Apart from some slight waviness this work is in good original condition. 9. Executed on cream wove paper, not laid down, the sheet is mounted in four transparent plastic corners. There is a pencil sketch of a map on the reverse. The reverse is numbered 44 (in pencil) and No.G.107 and titled Maquette pour BOLIVAR (in ink). White mounting tape lines the upper and lower edges. There is a vertical flattened crease running to the left of centre, along with some handling smudges and media marks and a possible water stain on the lower edge. Otherwise good original condition. 10. Executed on cream wove paper, floating in the mount, fixed at several points towards the edges. There is a waviness to the sheet, an artist's pinhole in the upper left corner and a small nick to the centre of the upper edge. Otherwise this work is in very good original 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

1.
VIVA BOLÍVAR
inscribed Bolívar projet on the reverse
watercolor, ink and graphite on paper
12 by 16 1/8  in.
(30.5 by 41 cm)
Executed circa 1950.

2.
PAYSAGE DES ANDES
signed, titled and dated 48-49 lower center; also inscribed un souvenir de notre Bolívar, à Georges Hirsch, ton confidant, Léger lower left and 3º état, F. Léger, la plaine, premiere esquisse lower right
gouache and graphite on brown paper laid down on thick paper
13 3/4  by 10 7/8  in.
(35 by 27.5 cm)
Executed circa 1948-49.

3.
SANS TITRE (ACT I, SCENES I&II)
signed lower right and inscribed I acte 1 et 2eme scènesupper and lower edges; also inscribed Bolívar maquetteon the reverse
gouache, ink and graphite on paper
9 3/4  by 12 3/4  in.
(24.7 by 32.4 cm)
Executed circa 1950.

4.
SANS TITRE (ACT I, SCENE IV)
inscribed Acte I, Scène IV lower right
watercolor, graphite and ink on paper
7 5/8  by 12 3/4  in.
(19.4 by 32.4 cm)
Executed circa 1950.

5.
SANS TITRE
inscribed Bolívar Étude and dated 49 on the reverse
watercolor, ink and graphite on paper
10 7/8  by 13 3/4  in.
(27.6 by 35 cm)

6.
ESTRADE DES MUSICIENS
signed, titled and dated Bolívar-49 lower right; also signed and dated on the reverse
watercolor, graphite and ink on paper
7 7/8  by 10 in.
(20 by 25.4 cm)

7.
PAYSAGE DES ANDES
inscribed Bol. Étude lower left and on the reverse
watercolor, graphite and ink on paper
8 1/4  by 10 5/8  in.
(21 by 27 cm)
Executed in 1949.

8.
LE PASSAGE DES ANDES
signed, titled and dated 49 lower right
watercolor, gouache, graphite and ink on paper
7 5/8  by 12 5/8  in.
(19.4 by 32.1 cm)

9.
VENEZUELA
inscribed Maquette pour Bolívar on the reverse
gouache, ink and graphite on paper
12 3/8  by 16 1/8  in.
(31.5 by 41 cm)
Executed circa 1950.

10.
MORT DE BOLÍVAR (ACT III, SCENE III)
signed and dated 49 lower right
gouache, graphite and ink on paper
9 3/8  by 11 in.
(23.8 by 28 cm)

The legend of Simón Bolívar was so widespread that French modernist Fernand Léger was commissioned to design the costumes and set design for an opera based on his life. The opera was based on a ten-scene play by Jules Superville, first produced in Paris in 1936.  Composed by Darius Milhaud with choreography by Serge Lifar, and produced by Max de Rieu, the opera Bolívar had its first performance at the Opéra de Paris on May 12, 1950.

The opera is a colossal pageant of action, triumph and tragedy where the hero is raised to glory by overcoming great trials and tribulations. It concludes with Bolívar's death in exile, his vision of a unified "America" forever lost amid the splintering of several new nations. The opera is divided into three acts opening with the death of Bolívar's young wife María Teresa. Scenes follow that depict the grand square of Caracas, his mistress Manuelita Saenz, the epic traverse of Bolívar and his troops across the Andes, his defiance of the Spanish court in Lima,  and  finally his death in exile at Santa Marta, in what is today Colombia.

Bolívar, Milhaud's third opera based on major figures in the history of the Americas, including Christopher Columbus (1928) and Maximilian (1930), was composed while he was living in exile in the United States during World War II and teaching at Mills College in California.