Georges Bauquier, Fernand Léger, 1944-1948, Le catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, Paris, 2000, no. 1194, illustrated p. 77

Léger’s La Plante marks an exciting confluence of t⛄wo important themes in his work: the mechanical and the natural. Painted at the end of the artist’s five year exile in America during the German occupation of France, this work marks a shift towards a more organic style whilst retaining vivid echoes of his earlier Mechanical Period.

Despite believing that his work developed “independently of where I happen to be located geographically.” (De Francia, Fernand Léger, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1983, p. 127) Léger later conceded that America had profoundly influenced his style and subject matter, inspiring an interest in nature and a confidence in his use of color. He attributed the latter to New York’s vibrant neon lights and the way “you talk to someone, and all of a sudden he turns blue. Then the color fades – another one comes and turns him red or yellow.” (The Museum of Modern Art, Fernand Léger (exhibition catalogue), Abrams Inc, New York, 1998, p. 236). Léger’s increasingly bold use of color can be seen in La Plante, in which vivid planes of intense color are barely constrained by striking black contour lines.

Although he concentrated primarily on figurative work during his time in America, Léger’s interest in nature was stimulated by vacations in Rouses Point during the summers of 1943-45, a small village in northern New York State. There he observed abandoned farm machinery lying in overgrown fields and was struck by the con💟trast between the man-made and the natural:

“I painted…a group of American landscapes…inspired by the contrast presented by an abandoned machine…and the vegetation which devours it…The opposition between this pile of twisted metal and the marguerites which decorate it produces a vivid charm.” (quoted in The Museum of Modern Art, Fernand Léger 🀅(exh꧋ibition catalogue), New York, 1998,  p. 235)

Such opposition can be seen in La Plante: the sharp jagged ends of fronds provide a balance to the sinuous organic lozenges of color; the stillness of the central anchoring element contrasts with the dynamic thrusting movement of the vegetation, and bold color opposes heavy black outlines. This captivating work both illustrates the influence America had on Léger in terms of subject and style and confirms the artist’s “ever-present passion for contrasts.” (De Francia, Fernand Léger, Yale 🦹University Press, New Haven and London, 1983, p. 128)