Machine elements 1920

Fernand Léger made this painting, Machine Elements, with oil paint and a love for the mechanical. Can you picture him layering those geometric shapes one by one, building a world of gears and pistons? I imagine Léger was thinking about the beauty he saw in machines, the way they fit together, the power they held. His shapes lock together like cogs in a wheel, a testament to the engineering he admired. He probably felt like he was building something real, not just representing it. Look at how Léger uses color. The reds and blacks and whites contrast sharply, making the composition vibrate with energy, reflecting the same force that drives a machine. It's as though he's saying, "This is the future! It's bold, it's strong, and it's beautiful!" He takes Cubism into his own era, and makes something totally personal, pushing painting into a new relationship with the modern world.