The polychrome Fleur 1936

Fernand Léger made "The Polychrome Fleur" using what looks like gouache or tempera. I can imagine him in his studio thinking "flower-flower-flower"... and then thinking, "NO! I need to build a better flower!" The way he has built this image with flat forms and strong outlines reminds me of the German artist, Hannah Höch, who constructed images through collage. Léger does something similar here using shape and line. His painting has a graphic quality, like a poster, but it's hand-made. He's pushing against the decorative and ornamental, with an idea to construct a new kind of object. See that thick band of blue on the right? It has a density and a weight that makes you think about how to construct color itself. In a way, he's building an argument with color and form. Painters are always in conversation with each other, arguing, agreeing, and disagreeing through form, touch, and color. Léger is part of a long line of artists who have struggled to show us new ways of seeing.