The Mechanic 1920

Fernand Léger made this painting, called "The Mechanic," using oil on canvas. It's a really interesting mix of figuration and abstraction. I imagine Léger, with his own kind of mechanical precision, carefully layering and blending the tones to create a sense of form and volume. The figure is built from a limited palette of black, white, yellow and flesh tones. Look at the face - it's as if he built the features from blocks. The composition is very graphic and clean, reflecting the industrial era. I wonder if Léger thought of the working man as a kind of machine. He probably admired the man’s strength, skill, and his place in the modern world. The image conveys a sense of strength, but also a certain anonymity, which might have been a reflection of Léger's own experiences and observations of urban life. It makes me think about how we are all connected by art and how painters learn from each other across generations.