The outing in the country 1954

Fernand Léger painted this playful scene with bold lines and flat colors. I can imagine him stepping back from the canvas, squinting, maybe tilting his head as he decided where to put each block of color. Look how each figure seems almost constructed from geometric forms. The man in the suit, so proper, so contained, is juxtaposed against the reclining nude. It's as if Léger is asking, "How can we represent the human form in the age of machines?" What did he think about the difference between the industrial and the organic? There’s a conversation happening here between the figures, the landscape, and maybe even between Léger and other artists who were grappling with similar ideas. It makes you wonder about the ongoing dialogue between artists across time, all trying to make sense of the world through paint.