The man with the pipe 1918

Fernand Léger made this oil painting, The Man with the Pipe, sometime in the early 20th century, constructing a figure from simple geometric forms. It's all about how the colors butt up against each other, and how the shapes lock together. Look at the way Léger uses clean lines and smooth surfaces, almost like he's building with blocks. The textures are subdued. It's not about brushstrokes or gestural marks. The color palette is restrained but strong. It's about the push and pull between the blacks, whites, and grays, punctuated by pops of yellow and red. See the dark circle that makes up part of the figure's torso, that pushes the figure back into the picture plane. Léger seems to be talking to artists like Picasso and Braque, but he’s also doing his own thing, moving towards a more machine-like aesthetic. This is a painting that embraces ambiguity, inviting you to find your own way in.