Paris

Fernand Léger was born in Argentan in Normandy. He started to work in an architect office but soon became a painter. His first work shows clearly the impressionist influence, after that it was Matisse and the Fauves influence. Then Cezanne became his favourite and he participates in the cubist adventure. In 1911 Kahnweiler, the genius art merchant who also discovered Picasso and Braque, noticed him. But the big revelation comes when he goes as a soldier to the front in WWI. “Not alone” was he there” like he said, “shoulder to shoulder with the whole French nation” but “was also blinded in full sun by the magic of the light on white metal and canon”. Leger always said later:” After the war I used everything I learned at the frontline”.

Farewell to New York

Leger was not an intellectual, but a simple, uncomplicated and friendly man, adored by his pupils and working hard day and night like a simple worker. His biggest goal was to make “the cleaning lady and the workers at Renault” make understand what he did. He was also a ceramist, a sculptor, glassmaker and a passionate drawer. During WWII he immigrated to New York, where the massive and impressive architecture inspired him. Legers passion for mechanics shows in its enormous constructions with small, brave men forming an inextricable unity with pipes, beams and metallic objects, not to forget the bicycles!
Léger and Picasso had the same age. They knew each other from the wild days of cubism and when Leger came in 1951 to Biot, Picasso was not far, in Antibes. About this period, Picasso’s companion, Françoise Gilot reports in her book: ”Life with Picasso”’. She tell that Picasso never had any interest in Léger’s work and Pablo explained to Françoise:” his work is always a little bit outside great painting, there is not enough in his art for me, it is open and honest but doesn’t mean anything more than what you see”. I think that is the right opinion we must have about Léger’s work. It is also amusing to read in Gilot’s memoires how she felt about Nadia Léger. A goodish, but stupid and stubborn Russian moujik woman. But she was not so “goodish”, our Nadia Petrovna Léger: the Russian world famous cellist Mstislav Rostropovitch unveiled in summer 1994 that Nadia Petrovna Léger sent a letter in 1974 to the KGB saying that Nadia called Rostropovitch and his wife (singer Galia Visjnevskaya) “ filthy pigs” and even added:” that Rostropovitch and his wife should stay in the West because they were unable to show their gratitude to the Soviet-Union, who teached them and promoted them (?)”. Rostropovitch told in an interview to the “Figaro” paper that he received the letters from the KGB after the collapse of the soviet regime.
What excited me most inside the museum Léger was the extensive photo gallery of Leger’s life.
The 1st floor shows clearly how his art evoluated through its periods, from the etude for "La Femme en Bleu" where he breaks off with impressionism by introducing pure colours until his master work: "Les Constructeurs" (1950). Second floor is dedicated to ceramics, window of glass tiles, wall covers, mosaics, tapestries, glass works and ceramics

Bibliography:

"La Cote d'Azur (Ed.Serre, Nice 1988), Guide du Routard 1998-99, “Fernand Leger, vie et oeuvres”, by Fr.Berliner (ed.Presses Univ. 1996)-« Life with Picasso » by Fr.Gilot (ed. Grasset 1968)-“l’Aventure de l’Art au XXème Siècle”, by Jean-Louis Ferrier (ed. Chene-Hachette 1993)

Visit of Biot to museum

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