The album "Circus" 1950

Fernand Léger made this album cover “Circus” with flat colors and simple shapes. It's like a puzzle that you're trying to put together! It’s obvious that Léger was interested in everyday life and how to make it sing on the canvas, capturing the human experience of modern life. The shapes appear and reappear as he tries to define figures and objects in a new way. You see that rust-colored figure—the shape of the mouth is the same shape as the hand in the square. The black outlines really nail it down; the forms are assertive. I think this came out of cubism – which attempted to represent multiple viewpoints simultaneously – but Léger’s got his own thing going on. He emphasizes the beauty and visual rhythm inherent in industrial and urban environments. It’s like he's saying, "Hey, look at this!" And it makes you look. Each piece is a moment in the artist’s journey, and it’s cool to see how painters are always talking to each other.