La Jeune Fille À L’échelle 1949

Fernand Léger’s, La Jeune Fille À L’échelle, or, The Young Girl with a Ladder, uses simplified forms and bold colors to evoke a sense of modern life. Léger, who lived through both World Wars, sought to capture the dynamism of the industrial age, and was actively involved in the Communist party. Here, the artist presents a figure who defies easy categorization. She is adorned with bracelets, yet her dress and sturdy posture suggest a working-class background. The ladder she carries could symbolize social mobility, yet its weight seems to burden her, raising questions about gender and class expectations in the early 20th century. The inclusion of a dove introduces a utopian dimension, hinting at a world where these tensions might be resolved. As Léger himself stated, "I try to find a plastic equivalent for this essentially modern feeling." "La Jeune Fille À L’échelle," invites us to consider the complex interplay of aspiration and constraint, hope and hardship, in the lives of women during a period of rapid social change.