Composition murale sur fond jaune 1953

Fernand Léger made this painting on canvas with oil paint around 1953. The colours are so punchy and bright, and the black outline gives it that pop-art comic-book energy. It’s like he’s taken the everyday and made it monumental, maybe even mechanical. Look at the surface, the paint seems laid down quite flatly, you can see the texture of the canvas coming through. But it’s that heavy black line that really grabs you. It’s almost like he's built these shapes and forms out of steel girders! See how the colours butt up against each other, unapologetically? Like the orange and the blue, never blending, always themselves. Léger was all about finding beauty in the industrial world. It’s as if he’s saying, "Hey, even machines can be beautiful!" It reminds me of Stuart Davis; he was similarly inspired by the energy of modern life. Art is just a way of having a conversation, and Léger has given us plenty to talk about.