Les quatre acrobates 1954

Fernand Léger made this painting of acrobats with what looks like simple, graphic shapes and bold colours—reds, yellows, greens, and blues. I imagine Léger building up this composition slowly, maybe starting with one figure and then adding another, shifting them around until they locked together in a kind of human puzzle. It's like he's saying, "How can I make these bodies fit together, not just physically, but visually?" The heavy black outlines really make each figure pop, giving them this almost cartoonish solidity. And the flat planes of color? They’re not trying to trick you into thinking these are real people. I can see echoes of Matisse in Léger's love for simple forms and bright colors, but Léger's got this tougher, more mechanical edge. It feels like he's trying to capture the energy of modern life, the way things fit together, clash, and support each other all at once.