Léger first sculpted Le Tournesol in 1952. He had arrived at the medium of ceramic several years earlier when he began to work in the polychrome sculpture studio of Roland Brice. This new medium allowed for wholly new expressions of Léger's artistic intentions. With a renewed sense of possibility, the artist created fresh and complex sculptures that redefined contemporary ceramics at the time. He reconciled his earlier explorations of Cubism with a new approach to volume and color. These initial experiments with ceramic also revealed an acute awareness to architectural space and urban landscape. Inspired by the monumentality of city architecture, Léger brought a gr🍷ander sense of scale to his sculptures. In turn, he imbued these sculptures with a vibrancy of color which the cityscape lacked.

Le Tournesol demonstrates this move towards architectural cooperation, a theme which would interest Léger for the rest of his artistic career. The grand scale of this piece, coupled with the brilliant and explosive coloring, gives a clear sense of the new direction which the artist was taking in these revelatory post-war years.  As the poet André Verdet described, "Leger's ceramics are the tranquil assertion of the exuberance of life. Their healthy coloring, the weight of their flesh, their tactile qualities, their orderliness, the confidence that emanates from them [...], all that makes us see them as real objets d'art that have a beneficial utility in the time and space allotted us." (Yvonne Brunhammer, Fernand Léger; The Monumental Art, Milan, 2005, p. 140)

Figure 1  Fernand Léger in the studio of Roland Brice, circa 1952

Fig. 2 Reverse of the present lot