- 165
Fernand Léger
Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 USD
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Description
- Fernand Léger
- Les Plongeurs
- Signed with the initials F.L. and dated 44 (lower right)
- Gouache on paper
- 19 3/4 by 25 1/2 in.
- 50.1 by 64.7 cm
Provenance
Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris
The Waddington Galleries, London (acquired from the above in 1969)
Private Collection, Canada (acquired from the above in 1970)
Blanche & Romie Shapiro, New York (acquired from the above)
Thence by descent
The Waddington Galleries, London (acquired from the above in 1969)
Private Collection, Canada (acquired from the above in 1970)
Blanche & Romie Shapiro, New York (acquired from the above)
Thence by descent
Condition
Executed on cream colored wove paper which has been reinforced with Japan paper. The pigments are bright and fresh. There is some very minor cracking in the white pigments in the upper left quadrant. There is a vertical crease the length of the sheet through the center of the composition. There is a six inch horizontal repaired tear extending from the center of the left edge, and a two inch repaired tear extending horizontally from the left edge, approximately 3 inches from the top. There are several repaired tears along the upper edge. There is a flattened crease in the lower left corner. The sheet is lightly time stained overall. The work is in overall fair 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
Les Plongeurs, painted in 1944 during Léger’s exile in the United States, marks what would become the artist's definitive style after World War II. Composed mainly of large blocks of primary colors, the picture encapsulates Léger's belief that "Truth in painting is color at its fullest: red, black, yellow, since pure tones in paintings is reality" (Fernand Léger, “The Question of ‘Truth’” in Plus, vol. 2, Paris, 1939, p. 18). This philosophy governed the color palette of the present work, in which bands and patches of primary colors overlap the swirling figures within the composition. “In his series based on divers, Léger experimented not only with the representation of the human body but also—and primarily—with painting as such, i.e. the visual subject, pictorial space and dimensions, and the relationship between color and drawing. The way had been paved with the Perroquets series in Paris, but the works in the Plongeurs series in New York were the real breakthrough. In these, Léger separated color from drawing and sought to establish a new relationship between figurative and abstract painting. What he was looking for was a changed balance between the various formal elements of painting” (Daniel Kramer, “Emancipated Drawing as Modernist Figure Painting: Fernand Léger’s Mural Les plongeurs” in Fernand Léger (exhibition catalogue), Fondation Beyeler, Basel, 2008, p. 98; see fig. 1).
Les Plongeurs is therefore extraordinary in its separation of color and form into two nearly distinct practices. Léger heightened the effect of these bright, primary hues by utilizing flat fields of color that appear independent from the figures floating within them. This bold use of color would extend to a new generation of post-war American artists, including those such as Ellsworth Kelly, who pushed the limits of color and form, ultimately freeing them completely from the picture plane. As in Green Blue Red of 1963, Kelly would take up the mantle of coloration that Léger initiated in his spectacular wartime series (see fig. 2). As the artist himself stated, “I’ve attempted to translate the character of the human body moving freely in space without touching the ground... I’ve separated color from drawing and liberated it from shape by arranging it in large color fields without forcing it to follow the outlines of objects. It thus retains its entire force, as does the drawing” (quoted in André Warnod, “’L’Amérique ce n’est pas un pays, c’est un monde,’ dit Fernand Léger” in Arts, vol. 49, Paris, January 4, 1946, p. 2).
Les Plongeurs is therefore extraordinary in its separation of color and form into two nearly distinct practices. Léger heightened the effect of these bright, primary hues by utilizing flat fields of color that appear independent from the figures floating within them. This bold use of color would extend to a new generation of post-war American artists, including those such as Ellsworth Kelly, who pushed the limits of color and form, ultimately freeing them completely from the picture plane. As in Green Blue Red of 1963, Kelly would take up the mantle of coloration that Léger initiated in his spectacular wartime series (see fig. 2). As the artist himself stated, “I’ve attempted to translate the character of the human body moving freely in space without touching the ground... I’ve separated color from drawing and liberated it from shape by arranging it in large color fields without forcing it to follow the outlines of objects. It thus retains its entire force, as does the drawing” (quoted in André Warnod, “’L’Amérique ce n’est pas un pays, c’est un monde,’ dit Fernand Léger” in Arts, vol. 49, Paris, January 4, 1946, p. 2).