Exit the Ballets Russes 1914

Fernand Léger made this painting called Exit the Ballets Russes with oil on canvas. Looking at it, I’m seeing a world of shapes: cylinders, cones, and stacked forms that feel like figures but aren’t quite figures. The colours are intense, these vivid blues and reds against a quieter, grayer background. I can almost imagine Léger, in his studio, wrestling with these forms, pushing them around until they find their place. How do you even begin to paint something like this? The thick black lines are like scaffolding, holding everything together. And those stripes! They give the painting a rhythm, a pulse. I’m thinking about how this relates to Léger’s interest in machinery, in modern life. He’s not just painting dancers; he’s painting the energy of the dance, the movement and dynamism of the modern world. Painters are always in conversation, picking up where others left off, adding their own voice to the mix. Léger took what the Cubists were doing and made it his own, pushing it further. Painting can be confusing, but this is where the magic comes from.