Fernand Léger, 1881 Argentan/ Orne – 1955 Gif sur Yvette
VIE, 1951-1952
Fresco, expertly removed and mounted on new backing material.
130 x 133 cm.
In profiled ebonized wooden frame.

Status report by Laurent Laxenaire, conservateur restaurateur de peinture, spécialiste des supports peints, of 21 November 2002;
confirmation of authenticity by Hélène Thénier-Samoilov and Pierre Thénier, of 30 June 2007; confirmation of
authenticity by Natalie Thénier-Samoilov, of 04. July 2007;
authentication by Francois Lorenceau, Brame & Lorenceau, 05 July 2007;

Fernand Léger's roots lie in the cubism of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque and the art theoretical approaches of the Paris-based group Abstraction-Création. In the 1920s, he became a pioneer of a neoplasticist movement. He understood this nascent realism to mean "the simultaneous combination of the three basic elements of line, form and color" (Fernand Léger, Man, Machine, Painting. Essays on Art, Berne 1971, p. 19), which he also repeatedly explored anew in the course of his work.

1951-1952 "Vie" (life) was created immediately after his return to France from his exile in New York (1940-1945). It is reminiscent of compositions by Hans Arp (1886-1963), but also of the color field painting of Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) and Kenneth Noland (1924-2010). It is a fresco from the artist's house in Lisores, Normandy, which Léger had inherited from his mother, expertly removed and mounted on a new backing material. In addition to his residence in Paris, the simple estate served him as a retreat and studio, which only close friends such as Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), Le Corbusier (1887-1965) or the art dealer Henri Kahnweiler were allowed to visit. In the 1970s, Léger's second wife and former student Nadia Khodasevich opened the house to the public.

In "Vie", cubism, surrealism, and abstraction come together. Forms are pushed over and into each other. They are flat and spatial, frozen and in motion at the same time. They float in front of or are fixed on a white picture background, at the same time this becomes a form even in the oval of the same colour in the foreground, whereby the boundaries of the individual spatial levels become blurred, even suspended. There is no clearly defined front or back. Formerly strictly geometrical forms are organically distorted.
Provenance:
House of the artist in Lisores, Normandy.
Hélène Thénier-Samoilov and Pierre Thénier, until 2007.
Swiss private collection.
Galerie Fischer Lucerne, 17.06.2010, No. 156, acquired
there directly from the consignor. (1221569) (13)


Fernand Léger,
1881 Argentan/ Orne - 1955 Gif-sur-Yvette
VIE, 1951 - 1952
Fresco, professionally removed and transferred to new base.
130 x 133 cm.
In moulded ebonized wooden frame.

Condition report by Laurent Laxenaire, conservateur restaurateur de peinture, spécialiste des supports peints, dated 21 November 2002; Certificate of authenticity by Hélène Thénier-Samoilov and Pierre Thénier, dated 30 June 2007; Certificate of authenticity by Natalie Thénier-Samoilov, dated 4 July 2007; certificate of authenticity by Francois Lorenceau, Brame & Lorenceau, dated 5 July 2007.

Provenance:
House of the artist in Lisores, Normandy;
Hélène Thénier-Samoilov and Pierre Thénier, until 2007;
Swiss private collection;
Galerie Fischer Lucerne, 17 June 2010, no. 156;