Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style

Fernand LĂ©ger summary

Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Fernand LĂ©ger.
Fernand LĂ©ger, photograph by Arnold Newman, 1941.
Fernand LĂ©ger, photograph by Arnold Newman, 1941.

Fernand LĂ©ger, (born Feb. 4, 1881, Argentan, Fr.—died Aug. 17, 1955, Gif-sur-Yvette), French painter. Born to a peasant family, he worked as an architectural draftsman in Paris before studying art. Influenced by Paul CĂ©zanne and early Cubism, LĂ©ger developed a painting style that combined bold colours with geometric and cylindrical forms arranged in highly disciplined compositions. His best-known works celebrated modern industrial technology by emphasizing shapes derived from machine parts. Though he was seriously injured in World War I, his art continued to affirm his faith in modern life and popular culture. In 1924 he conceived and directed Ballet mĂ©canique, a nonnarrative film with photography by Man Ray.