The rider ( the juggler, the acrobat) 1953

Fernand Léger made this monochromatic ink drawing of circus performers sometime during his later years. Just imagine Léger sketching, the thick black lines are so confident and sure. There are no erasures to be seen, just a few ghostly guidelines that add to the sketch-like quality of the piece. I wonder what Léger was thinking as he drew these figures? A juggler, an acrobat, and an equestrian – all dynamic subjects, captured with such static lines. See how the figures overlap, creating a sense of depth and movement? The drawing feels immediate and spontaneous, despite its carefully considered composition. The thick lines give it an almost graphic quality, like a poster or a print. You can see he’s playing with flatness and depth, abstraction and figuration all at once. Léger, like all artists, was in conversation with the art of his time, but also with the art of the past, with the circus, with his own earlier work. This piece is just one small step in that long, beautiful dance. It’s a reminder that art is never finished, but always evolving, shifting, and changing.