Danseuse en jaune et bleu 1943

Fernand Léger made this painting, *Danseuse en jaune et bleu*, sometime in the 1940s. It’s oil paint on canvas, and the marks are like bold outlines filled with big planes of color. I can imagine Léger making this, maybe even struggling with how to simplify the figure into these almost cartoonish shapes. The yellow figure seems to float against the blue, but it's anchored by these thick, black lines. The paint looks pretty smooth, not too much texture, which keeps the shapes crisp and clear. I love the way the blue cuts diagonally across the canvas, creating a sense of movement. It's like Léger is pushing and pulling the forms, trying to find the right balance. Léger was always thinking about how to make painting relevant to modern life, to machines and cities. And I think his work, like all great paintings, is part of a long conversation that artists have with each other over time. Painting, for me, is about that exchange, that back-and-forth. It’s never about getting it ‘right,’ but always about keeping the conversation going.