Cubism, Tubism, Provençal Light, and the Scent of Sun on Pines
A Visit to the Fernand Léger Museum in Biot, France
The drive through Biot to the Fernand Léger Museum winds past the old glass works. Biot has been known for a distinctive form of thick glass with bubbles that catch the Southern France light. The road then rises from the village of Biot through the foothills of the Alpes Maritimes into a quiet and pretty residential neighborhood. It is here on a hilltop that Léger bought an old mas, or farmhouse, and the surrounding land, to create his museum dedicated to his designs for outdoor sculpture.
On leaving the car park, the visitor follows a winding path through a pine grove with a distinctive scent from sun on pine bark, sap and fallen pine needles. At a turn in the path, at the end of a long sweeping lawn, Léger’s art becomes immediately visible with a multi-colored, mosaic mural on the front wall of the Museum.
Fernand Léger (1881-1955) died before his plan for an outdoor sculpture park could be executed. The Museum was built after his death and is the only museum in the world dedicated to the full historic sweep of Léger’s work. Léger lived in one of the most interesting times in European art history. His work spans the end of the Impressionist period through abstract Cubism, into post World War II populist realism. He also created his own take on Cubism that became known as “Tubism”. Léger was influenced by – and also influenced – many of the great painters of the period including, Cezanne, Braque, Chagall, Matisse and Picasso. Léger was also affected by 20th century wars and political trends. He fought in World War I, was in exile in the United States during World War II, and, on return to France, became a utopian socialist and a member of the Communist Party.
Early in the Museum’s exhibition gallery is a classically pretty painting entitled, “My Mother’s Garden”. It portrays a classic spring day with a color palette of soft greens, pink and orange. The color palette and the subject matter stand in sharp contrast to the brightly colored modern paintings and ceramics in the Museum. “My Mother’s Garden” is one of Léger’s earliest works and is painted in a disciplined, pointillistic style. It is one of only two works in the Museum painted in the Impressionist manner. Rumor has it that when Léger moved on to a more modern and abstract style of painting, he attempted to destroy all his Impressionist work and these two pictures are some of the only survivors.
Near the Impressionist works are a few of Léger’s attempts at pure abstract Cubism with linear and right-angled shapes and bright colors. He advanced from this style to a more realistic form of painting based on shapes and forms from nature, human subjects, and the modern mechanical world.
Léger was a brilliant colorist and on first look his paintings seem dominated by shades of mustard, cobalt, deep red and green. But Léger used these colors in an usual way; primarily for background and shading. Figures and objects are frequently painted in shades of gray and outlined in black, possibly an influence of Cezanne.
In these works, Léger used cylindrical forms to represent both people and objects. This distinctive style became known as Tubism, in contrast to the more hard-cornered forms of Cubism. Léger viewed the human figure as an object, with no greater aesthetic importance than the forms of other physical and mechanical objects, like birds, keys and bicycles.
Following his deployment in World War I, and convalescence from a mustard gas attack, Léger became fascinated by the power of machinery and its aesthetic forms. Some of his human figures in this period took the form of gray, steely robots that stand side-by-side and intertwined with machinery.
During World War II, Léger lived in the United States, primarily in New York City, and taught at Yale. He became fascinated with the bright neon lights of New York and commented on the way that they could turn the color of a person standing next to them from bright green to red. This sense of shading and bright neon color palette can be seen in many of Léger’s later works.
Léger returned to France with at least a small dose of the American sense of post-war optimism, and the strength of the individual. Some of the paintings in this period concentrate on strong, heroic, working men like sailors and high-rise construction workers. He also painted people at leisure in relaxed poses with bicycles and other objects. His work from this period is viewed as populist, although it has more of a utopian, rather than a politically socialist or communist, point of view.
In the Museum in Biot, Léger’s paintings and ceramics are displayed in a way that the full arc of 20th century history, and art history, can be readily seen in the work of the single artist.
The curators of the Museum are to be applauded for letting the art speak for itself and for avoiding politically motivated captions and analysis. This Museum is all about the artist and his work, and the paintings and sculptures tell the story.
The Museum takes full advantage of its Provençal setting. Beautiful natural light illuminates the paintings and streams though a magnificent stained glass window designed by Léger. The galleries are high and bright and painted in a sharp white that highlights Léger’s yellows, greens, and blues.
One of the problems with museums in the modern age is a deterioration in the quality of the museum-going experience. The managements and the boards of directors, of many, if not most, museums are primarily focused on the numbers - how many people visit in a year and how much they pay - while ignoring the visitor experience. The result is a decline in the quality of the experience as museums become overcrowded, hot, and noisy, with people stacked in front of each other just to get a glimpse of a painting. The Léger Museum has avoided these problems and the quality of the experience is excellent. During my most recent visit, there was a small and relatively quiet group of European visitors, and every work was accessible and clearly visible.
On leaving the Museum, the surrounding lawns, the scent of Proveçal pine, the mosaic murals, and the outdoor sculptures entice the visitor to take a seat on a weathered wooden bench and contemplate color, form, and the arc of 20th century art in brilliant sunshine. It’s hard to leave.
What a delight it is to visit this beautiful museum and the art of Leger through your essay. I so appreciated your observation that the work of Leger reflected not only the important artistic movements of the early 20th century, but also the societal and historical developments of the time. Cannot wait to travel to Biot and enjoy the museum for myself.