Typographer (Final State) by Leger in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, August 2009

Typographer (Final State)

Fernand Léger, French, 1881 - 1955

Geography: Made in France, Europe

Date: 1919

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 51 5/16 x 38 3/8 inches (130.3 x 97.5 cm)

Copyright: © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Curatorial Department: Modern Art

Accession Number: 1950-134-125

Credit Line: The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950

Additional information:

Publication: Masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Impressionism and Modern Art

Typographer (Final State) was made during an important transitional period in Léger's career, between the creation of his Cubist compositions from before World War I and the mechanized forms of modern industrial life that he began painting in 1918. In this dynamic, densely packed, brightly colored composition, machine-like forms combine to suggest the shape of a human figure. The title of this painting most likely refers to the typographers with whom Léger worked on poet and novelist Blaise Cendrars's book J'ai tué (I Have Killed; 1918), which the artist illustrated with tubular-shaped soldiers and sleek machines. Léger produced many studies and four complete versions of this painting before producing this one. He went on to experiment with a wide range of mediums during his prolific career, from mural painting and film to theater sets and ceramics, with an ever greater emphasis on creating an easily accessible realism. Emily Hage, from Masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Impressionism and Modern Art (2007), p. 128.

Text from: www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/51041.html?mulR=539887631|21