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Lot 209
  • 209

Fernand Léger

Estimate
150,000 - 250,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Fernand Léger
  • L'Équipe
  • Signed with the intials F.L. and dated 44 (lower right)
  • Gouache on tracing paper laid down on card
  • 14 by 20 in.
  • 35.6 by 50.8 cm

Provenance

Louis Carré, New York
Private Collection (acquired from the above in 1966 and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 8, 2008, lot 161)
Acquired at the above sale

Condition

The work has been executed on tracing paper which was subsequently mounted to a heavy cardboard. The paper is lifting a bit at some areas of the edge. There are a few creases resulting from the mounting of the paper as well. While most of the pigment is in fine condition, the white throughout the work has flaked significantly. Due to the risk of even greater pigment loss, it is not recommended to remove the cardboard mount from the work. The above condition report has been kindly provided by Alan Firkser of Paper Conservation Studio, Inc., and independent conservator who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The present work is one of a series of studies Léger created around 1944 for his work Les quatre cyclistes (see fig. 1). The inspiration behind this subject was the eponymous 1936 film by the French director Julien Duvivier. The socialist message of the film, in which cooperative workers transcend their individual interests to create a community in which, "chaque citoyen (étant) president" (any citizen could be president) dovetailed with Léger's increased involvement with syndicalism and the cultural debates of the Front Populaire.

This work is a representation of this vision of communal harmony, the relaxed poses an🎃d easy interaction between the figures suggesting a mutually supportive social order. Léger believed art was a progressive influence on the evolution of society, and sought to project a vision of an idealized society in which the individual has embraced an egalitarian social order. The interlocking composition of t🥀his work, in which the spokes of cycles, the limbs of the figures and the branches of the trees seem intertwined, is symbolic of the integration of nature, the individual and industrialized society in Léger's progressive, socialist future.

 

COMP
CAPTION

Fig. 1 Fernand Léger, Les quatre cyclistes, oil on canvas, 1943-48, Musée National Fernand Léger,🐼 B𝄹iot