Les saltimbanques, Fernand Léger, 1940
Fernand Léger, portraitFernand LégerFrench, 1881–1955

Les saltimbanques

1940 · Drawing and Watercolor

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked
In this state since
Source
The museum

Particulars

Accession number
1973.719

In the catalog

Sources

Meanwhile, in the life of Fernand Léger

The whole life
  1. 1940–1945

    The war years in exile in the United States

    In 1940–1945 Léger lives in exile in the United States. He teaches at Yale University, where Focillon, Milhaud and Maurois also teach, gives “Composition with Two Parrots” to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and in the summer gives a course of lectures at Mills College (Oakland, California), where he organizes an exhibition of his paintings.

  2. 1940–1945

    Broadway neon and bands of colour

    During his American sojourn Léger begins making paintings in which freely arranged bands of colour are juxtaposed with figures and objects outlined in black. He credited the neon advertisements of Broadway as the source of this innovation: you talk to someone and he suddenly turns blue, then the colour fades, another one comes and turns him red or yellow.

  3. 1940–1945

    A circle of refugees: Pierre Matisse and Father Couturier

    In his years of exile Léger meets other refugee artists at Pierre Matisse's and forms a friendship with Father R. P. Couturier.

All works

Neighbors at Art Institute of Chicago

Museum page