Fernand Leger

FERNAND LEGER (France, 1881 - 1955).
"Le Cycliste Grande affiche pour les mats de Paris", 1948.
Silkscreen.
Signed on plate.
Printing: Mourlot, Paris.
In very good condition.
Measurements: 159 x 119 cm.

Great poster conceived by Fernand Léger in 1948, destined to the mâts de Paris, monumental format thought for the urban space and the public diffusion of the modern art. The composition presents the figure of a stylized cyclist, built from round geometric shapes and flat colors, organized in a dynamic and rhythmic structure.

The work paradigmatically exemplifies the plastic language developed by Léger after World War II, in which the human figure is integrated with mechanical and industrial elements. The cyclist, a symbol of modernity, movement and contemporary life, becomes here an emblem of post-war optimism and reconstruction.

The graphic editions produced by Mourlot, a workshop with which Léger collaborated closely, are remarkable for their technical excellence and their fidelity to the monumental spirit of his painting. Léger's large-format posters, especially those conceived for public spaces, are rare and highly appreciated in the modern graphic art market.

Fernand Léger was one of the key figures of the European avant-garde and a fundamental protagonist of Cubism and modern art in the 20th century. His work is represented in the collections of the Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou and the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, as well as in international institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Tate in London and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His visual language, based on the synthesis between figure, color and the industrial world, had a decisive influence on the development of modern art.