GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Geometric shapes in blue, red, brown, and black intersect with forms that resemble objects, such as the scroll of a cello and a knife handle. Fernand Léger's raw, loose lines and blurred colors further obscure the boundary where one object ends and another begins. The artist guides the eye by dividing the composition vertically, with abstract forms on the left and cylindrical tree trunks, to which the title refers, on the right. Léger sets this composition within a large cross-section of tree trunk floating on an ambiguous background. Surrealist qualities like the otherworldly setting, distorted scale, and intertwined forms invite the viewer to create unexpected relationships between the pictorial elements.
This painting illustrates Léger's experimental process in the 1930s, combining constructivist shapes, abstract objects, and biomorphic elements.
Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, DMA label copy, 2010.
NOTES
Created in 1933
Checked Piction
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York~Learn more about Fernand Léger from the Met.
- Art Institute of Chicago~Check out this 1953 catalog from an exhibition of Léger's work.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1982.28.FA
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General Description
Geometric shapes in blue, red, brown, and black intersect with forms that resemble objects, such as the scroll of a cello and a knife handle. Fernand Léger's raw, loose lines and blurred colors further obscure the boundary where one object ends and another begins. The artist guides the eye by dividing the composition vertically, with abstract forms on the left and cylindrical tree trunks, to which the title refers, on the right. Léger sets this composition within a large cross-section of tree trunk floating on an ambiguous background. Surrealist qualities like the otherworldly setting, distorted scale, and intertwined forms invite the viewer to create unexpected relationships between the pictorial elements.
This painting illustrates Léger's experimental process in the 1930s, combining constructivist shapes, abstract objects, and biomorphic elements.
Excerpt from
Heather MacDonald, DMA label copy, 2010.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York~Learn more about Fernand Léger from the Met.
- Art Institute of Chicago~Check out this 1953 catalog from an exhibition of Léger's work.
Notes
Created in 1933
Checked Piction
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Paris (France): TGN: 7008038
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1982.28.FA
source file
object_notes_2_b-0334.xml.nores