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Lot Essay
Like many artists in the aftermath of World War I, Léger sought an aesthetic response to the new world of machines, manufactured objects and plastic life. Increasingly influenced by his association with international art movements, in particular the Bauhaus, Léger's artistic 'esprit nouveau' was stimulated not only by Cubism, but by the innovative theories of Purism and De Stijl. Léger had worked as an architectural draftsman as well as an illustrator, and was attracted to the tenets that characterised these new art movements; clarity, precision, harmony and order. Inspired by Léonce Rosenberg's De Stijl exhibition at the Galerie de l'Effort Moderne in November 1923, Léger established a style which amalgamated architecture, sculpture and painting in a single, harmonious setting. Like Le Corbusier and Ozenfant, Léger sought to unite architectural order with images drawn from modern life, thus elevating the common, everyday object in a monumental, yet simplified manner. The almost mathematical precision of these paintings represent an attempt to 'solve' the problems of Cubism by reintroducing the integrity of individual objects, a proposal quite opposed to Cubism's dissolution of solids.
Nature morte au buste is a structurally complex work, a table top still-life set within a modern interior. Its two primary objects - a Roman bust and a goblet - dominate the composition and separate it into two distinct halves, each given equal visual importance through strong delineation of colours. These and the other objects on the table display both volume and rounded forms and contrast strongly with the framework of thick, straight lines which create multiple and overlapping layers of squares and rectangles. The roll of paper, protractor and other drafting instruments on the table symbolize precision and creativity and form a striking contrast to the antique head and goblet, while Léger's new admiration for the cinema is evident in the relatively intimate view and cropping of the objects.
The present work formed part of the astounding collection of Douglas Cooper, one of the world's foremost authorities on Cubism. His was without question among the greatest private collections ever assembled of the work of Picasso, Braque, Gris and Léger, a collection formed in large part by the 1930s and polished and refined thereafter. It was, moreover, a collection based on in-depth analysis and understanding of the Cubist movement; it represented every phase of the development of these four artists, all their primary media, and the entire range of their subject matter. The present painting has remained in the collection of Cooper's heirs, who are entrusting it to the present sale.
Nature morte au buste is a structurally complex work, a table top still-life set within a modern interior. Its two primary objects - a Roman bust and a goblet - dominate the composition and separate it into two distinct halves, each given equal visual importance through strong delineation of colours. These and the other objects on the table display both volume and rounded forms and contrast strongly with the framework of thick, straight lines which create multiple and overlapping layers of squares and rectangles. The roll of paper, protractor and other drafting instruments on the table symbolize precision and creativity and form a striking contrast to the antique head and goblet, while Léger's new admiration for the cinema is evident in the relatively intimate view and cropping of the objects.
The present work formed part of the astounding collection of Douglas Cooper, one of the world's foremost authorities on Cubism. His was without question among the greatest private collections ever assembled of the work of Picasso, Braque, Gris and Léger, a collection formed in large part by the 1930s and polished and refined thereafter. It was, moreover, a collection based on in-depth analysis and understanding of the Cubist movement; it represented every phase of the development of these four artists, all their primary media, and the entire range of their subject matter. The present painting has remained in the collection of Cooper's heirs, who are entrusting it to the present sale.