A beautiful woman stares straight ahead out of Fernand Léger Visage a une main sur fond ocre (Face with One Hand on Ocher Background), making direct and sustained eye contact with the viewer. Straight away, this is a work of art that interacts with you. The woman, with pale ivory skin and jet black hair stands is framed against an ocher background. The color brings some warmth into an otherwise monochrome scene. Thick, black lines mark the features of the woman’s face. Her eyes are lidded as she sleepily gazes out at us. Her nose is well defined and straight, arching into her eyebrows at the stop, and terminating at her mouth on the other end. Around her neck is hanging a necklace that looks like a bunch of grapes. The circles clump together and hang down heavily in an triangular shape. She raises one hand up to her face as if to beckon us forward towards her.

Léger began creating low relief ceramics in the early 1950’s based on paintings that he had made before then. He made the ceramics with intensely contrasting colors, as we can see on Léger Visage a une main sur fond ocre (Face with One Hand on Ocher Background). He used the color to contrast with the bright white glazed ceramic, and the black lines were added for extra contrast and definition. Because of this technique, Léger’s ceramics stand out boldly and dynamically, and are certain to be an excellent addition to any collection.

Created circa 1950, this low relief glazed ceramic plaque is signed with the initials ‘F.L.’ in the lower right; stamped ‘VISAGE A UNE MAIN fond ocre | Edition à 250 exemplaires d’après la | maquette originale de Fernand LEGER | (exclusivité Musée National F. LEGER BIOT) | Numéro 104/250’ on verso. Numbered from the edition of 250 on verso.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

1. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany Fernand Léger Visage a une main sur fond ocre (Face with One Hand on Ocher Background).