Fernand Léger lithograph La Lecture (The Reader), c. 1953; Two geometric female figures gaze out at the viewer, books in hand. The figure on the left lounges, grasping an open book, yet does not look down to read but rather stares out towards the viewer. The more symmetrical, bald figure on the right stands at a harsh vertical with her book to her chest. This "bald" female subject was the source of much criticism for Léger, yet he refused to place hair upon her head.

Gilles Néret states, "The anecdote of the "bald" woman in The Reader, the 1924 painting, is significant because it comes at a turning point in Léger's artistic life. The period during which he was preoccupied uniquely by the isolation of objects, the human body included, and the focus on volumes and contrasts, was on the verge of becoming a new period in which his characters would start to live, do things (read, for instance), be reflective, and dream, rather than be round, soul-less forms stuck to a rigid geometric background" (p. 183).

Created in c. 1953, this work is hand signed by Fernand Léger Fernand Léger (Argentan, 1881 – Gif-Sur-Yevette, 1955) in pencil in the lower right margin; signed in the stone 'F. Leger' in black in the lower right. This work is numbered from the total edition of 350 in pencil in the lower left margin.

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:

Fernand Léger lithograph La Lecture (The Reader), c. 1953 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoice accompanying the final sale of the work).

1. De Francia, Peter. Fernand Léger. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983. The original 1924 oil on canvas illustrated and discussed on pg.89.
2. Fauchereau, Serge. Fernand Léger: A Painter in the City. New York: Rizzoli International, 1994. The original 1924 oil on canvas illustrated on pg. 56.
3. Néret, Gilles. F. Léger. New York: BDD Illustrated Books, 1990. The original 1924 oil on canvas illustrated and discussed on pg. 182-183.
4. Saphire, Lawrence. Fernand Léger. New York: Blue Moon Press, 1978. Documented and illustrated on pg. 290 as E. 23 (another example from the same edition illustrated).

About the Framing:

Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Fernand Léger lithograph La Lecture (The Reader), c. 1953 is presented in a complementary moulding and finished with silk-wrapped mats and optical grade Plexiglas.