Composition for a Mural 1945

Fernand Léger made this gouache on paper called "Composition for a Mural", in France sometime in the 20th century. Bold outlines and flat planes of color give it a graphic punch, like a blueprint for some kind of machine-organism hybrid. Léger was into process, not just painting what he saw, but showing how things are made, almost like revealing the hidden structure of the world. The texture's smooth, but the colors? They're anything but shy. Primary hues pop against that deep blue background, creating a strange harmony. Look at that red shape. It's reaching, almost grasping, with lines that feel both mechanical and organic. It reminds me of how he saw the modern world – a collision of nature and industry. Léger's work is all about this kind of visual language, a bit like Picasso, who was also working in France at this time, but with a different visual vocabulary. Both were interested in showing the mechanics behind how we see and understand things.