Study for a Portrait 1945

This study for a portrait was made by Fernand Léger in 1945 using ink on paper. The graphic simplicity of this work is striking, isn’t it? Look at the way Léger reduces everything to its essential form. It’s all about bold lines and flat planes, like he's building a world from geometric shapes. You can see how the ink bleeds slightly into the paper, creating a sense of depth and shadow despite the limited palette. My eye keeps going to the woman's hands. They are so delicately rendered, almost fragile, in contrast to the more angular forms around them. It’s like a moment of softness in a world of hard edges, creating a tension that is both unsettling and compelling. Léger’s work has a visual clarity that reminds me of early modernist artists like Picasso, but with a more industrial feel. Ultimately, what I love about Léger is his ability to find beauty and poetry in the everyday, reminding us that art is all around us, waiting to be discovered.