The Staircase 1913

Fernand Léger made this painting called ‘The Staircase’ at some point, using oil on canvas, and it's got a real raw energy. The way he slaps on the paint, it's all about the process, you know? Look at the surface – it's thick and juicy in places, almost like he's sculpting with the paint itself. The colors, primary and bold, feel like a punch in the gut. Notice that little staircase motif in the top right; it is almost childlike in its simplicity. It is these little touches that reveal the human hand, that show us this image has been constructed. Léger’s piece reminds me a bit of Stuart Davis, another artist who loved to break things down and build them back up in unexpected ways. But where Davis is all jazzy syncopation, Léger feels more like a machine grinding away, relentless and powerful. Ultimately, though, it's all about that feeling you get when you look at it, that sense of something being both familiar and utterly strange.