Dancer the dog (The dog on the ball, Study for the Grande Parade 1952

Fernand Léger, at an unknown date, made "Dancer the dog (The dog on the ball, Study for the Grande Parade)" with paint, maybe oil or gouache. I imagine Léger piecing this scene together, color by color, form by form, almost like a joyful construction worker. I think about what it’s like to be Léger, building up these characters: the dog balanced on a ball, the musician, the performer. The colors are so bright, the lines so crisp, and it’s like he’s trying to capture the energy of a circus, maybe even the feeling of a jazz tune. What could it mean to be an artist during this time? The dog, so perfectly spotted, stands there, seemingly without a care in the world. It reminds me of Picasso, of course, but it also has something of Stuart Davis, that American love for the graphic and the jazzy. Léger is in conversation with so many others, all trying to figure out how to make sense, and beauty, out of the world.