Peinture murale polychrome 1949

Fernand Léger made this “Polychrome Mural Painting” without a date, using oil on canvas. The colours really vibrate off of the grey background, don’t they? Léger wasn't trying to trick you into thinking this was anything other than flat shapes on a surface. The physical quality of the paint is straightforward. The colours are clearly delineated, and there's something very satisfying about the smooth, opaque surface. The way he uses black to outline shapes reminds me of stained glass or even a child's colouring book. The yellow form in the centre is like a big, goofy hieroglyph, an abstracted figure dancing across the picture plane. It feels like everything is on the verge of falling apart but held in place by the simple composition. This piece seems to echo the graphic sensibilities of someone like Stuart Davis, who also juggled abstraction with a playful sensibility. Like a good joke, it leaves you thinking. What else can painting be?