The Creation of the prehistoric World state 1923

Fernand Léger made this gouache on paper, The Creation of the Prehistoric World State, and it feels like a playful dance between representation and abstraction. I can only imagine Léger conjuring this creature, maybe seeing it emerge from his brushstrokes, guided by intuition and a curiosity for what might come next. The creature almost seems to smile with its mouth made of teeth, and stare with it’s singular eye – what does it see? Léger lays down blocks of brown and orange, then contrasts these with bold outlines, dots, and lines that give the creature its character. The way Léger repeats shapes reminds me of other artists who are also interested in rhythm and pattern, like Sonia Delaunay. It’s like artists are always riffing off each other, participating in an ongoing game of visual call-and-response. Ultimately, this image makes me think about how painting can be a kind of world-building, where artists invent new forms and new ways of seeing, creating their own logic systems on the canvas.