Fernand Léger, Le Cheval sur fond jaune, 1953

Artist: Fernand Léger (1881 - 1955)
Title:Le Cheval sur fond jaune, 1953
Medium:Original Low Relief Glazed Ceramic Plaque
Image Size:18 in x 14 7/8 in (45.7 cm x 37.8 cm)
Edition:Numbered from the edition of 250 on the verso; Published by the Musée National Fernand Léger, Biot.
Signature:With the artists initials ‘F.L’ in the lower right corner, this work is signed on the verso by Nadia Léger: ‘N. LEGER’.
Condition:This work is in excellent condition.
ID #w-5816

Historical Description

Fernand Léger Le Cheval sur fond jaune (Horse on Yellow Background), 1953 is a fantastical ceramic rendered in brilliant yellow. The head of the horse stands out against an abstracted background of yellow, black, and white. Towards the right of the ceramic the pattern looks almost like bricks in alternating white, black, and yellow. The long horses face takes up most of the center of the ceramic, leaving room for two vertical yellow and white portions on the left-hand side with delicate black detailing. The horse’s face is split between white and black, creating a stark contrast.

Léger ventured into ceramics in 1949 with the help of Roland Brice, in Biot, France. By this time his style was very cemented, and his ceramics are some of the finest examples of his work. The first ceramics that he made were modeled after some of his earlier paintings. Color was an integral element to Léger’s art – and as such it was an anchoring point of his ceramics as well. Léger liked the ceramic medium for the experimentation it offered with form and depth.

Created in 1953 after the original by the artist, this glazed ceramic multiple painted in black, yellow, and white with the initials of Fernand Léger (Argentan, 1881 – Gif-sur-Yvette, 1955) ‘F.L.’ in the lower right and is signed on the verso by Nadia Léger: ‘N. LEGER’. A label on the verso reads ‘LE CHEVAL sur fond jaune | Edition à 250 exemplaires d’après la | maquette originale de Fernand LEGER | (exclusivité Musée National F. LEGER_BIOT).'

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Fernand Léger Le Cheval sur fond jaune (Horse on Yellow Background), 1953 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work).

1.  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Fernand Léger Le Cheval sur fond jaune (Horse on Yellow Background), 1953 presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.

Subject Matter: Animals