Léger's AtelierAuthor(s): Bruce GregorySource: Art Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Autumn, 1962), pp. 40+42Published by: College Art AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/774608 .

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Bruce Gregory allons-y," and the next one would be put up However, the paintings that genuinely inter

LEGER'S ATELIER ested him would receive long and serious at tention. His critique was given in French, but a bi-lingual English student who had spenl Formerly on the staff of the John Herron Art a ii l ngis s en who hd spen his school boy years in France would give a School in Indianapolis, the author now teaches paint- . i running translation of Leger's comments for ing at Sarasota Art School. , ing at Sarasota Art Sthe benefit of the many American and Eng- lish students there.

In the spring of 1949, I decided to make These critique days were very lively and use of an opportunity for foreign study that stimulating affairs because after L6ger had was available to me as to many other ex- finished with his formal critique, the students servicemen under the provisions of the G.I. would break into groups and become involved Bill. I had learned that Fernand Leger had an in discussions and post-mortems of the paint- accredited school in Paris, and thought this ings shown. By this time, Leger and his en- represented a singular opportunity as L6ger tourage, Mme. Bauquier, her daughter Wanda, was the largest artistic figure teaching at that and perhaps two or three other friends would time. have departed. Georges Bauquier would re-

I arrived in Paris shortly before Easter, and main at the studio often entering into the dis- promptly enrolled in the Academie Montmar- cussions in a good-humored way. tre (Leger's school) which was located on the My own reaction to Paris and the atelier Boulevard Clichy in the heart of Montmartre. was of so many impressions coming so rapidly A narrow arcade led into a large courtyard, that I found it took me several weeks to sort and in the rear of this area was the entrance them out. But, by the end of the first month, I to the atelier. Upon entering, I found a group realized that Paris was truly a magnificent of students at work, perhaps thirty or forty. city, a stimulating place, and the ambience at Another group of equal size met in the after- the atelier was electric. I had initial doubts noon. that were to reoccur to me at various times

The atelier was a single, enormous room about some of the pervasive mannerisms with a model stand forward and a large pot- adopted by many of L6ger's students which bellied stove nearby. The walls of the room were superficial to what I thought was his real were lined with many still-life arrangements message. I early decided to maintain my own and countless objects in a variety of colors. way of doing things but to keep an open mind The still-lifes contained such objects as old about everything L6ger had to say. antique tables, wagon wheels, old wash-boards, The first summer, I worked almost exclu- branches, ancient plaques, plaster casts, and sively with the various still-lifes set up, mak- inflated, brightly colored balloons. Many of ing many, many gouache studies in an effort to these were entwined with rope and other col- incorporate the plastic ideals and spatial con- ored material. On the walls were a number of cepts that I felt were the truly exciting as- Leger's own paintings. Three models in dif- pects of L6ger's teaching, and also an aspect of ferent poses were on the model stand. The his work that even today is not as appreciated most comfortable was next to the stove. The as it might be. I discovered that if Leger bc- initial effect of the atelier was a shock of color came interested in what you were doing, each and contrast. week's critique built up a momentum of in-

The school was run at that time by M. and terest. I also observed that L6ger would not in- Mme. Georges Bauquier. Mme. Bauquier sist on imitators, although this was often en- later became Mme. Leger. Georges Bauquier couraged by Mme. Bauquier, and many, in par- did a good job of keeping the students organ- ticular the younger students, fell into what I ized. Leger himself came in two days a week, regarded as a trap of imitation. I discovered both morning and afternoon, which was later from observation that the students who re- changed to one day a week, Friday. ceived L6ger's most serious attention were

His method of critique was that the stu- those who had some grasp of his concept of dents who desired to have a painting criti- the plastic relationship between the component cized turn in their work to M. Bauquier. He parts of a painting. arranged them to one side of the model stand On one occasion that summer a group of the day of the critique. An easel was placed us were invited by Leger to his own studio on forward near the model stand, and stools, rue Notre Dame des Champs which was in chairs, etc., arranged in a large semi-circle. the Montparnasse area. One went up a long When L6ger arrived, he would take a seat in circular flight of stairs to his studio which front of the easel with Mme. Bauquier at his was crowded with many works in various side. Meanwhile, the first picture would be stages of completion. Among them was the put on the easel. The students would gather large leisure and bicycle group with the in- around and on critique days, the number al- scription, Homage au David, and many other ways seemed to swell, often as many as seventy works in progress. It was an unusual opportu- or eighty people would be present. nity to see these pictures and to hear Leger's

Leger was sometimes slow in getting un- comments about them. I remember commenting derway. In such instances, Mme. Bauquier on one painting that it had what seemed to me would begin a rapid-fire series of comments a particularly successful and daring passage about the paintings that would usually arouse of color. Evidently, I was misunderstood to Leger to animated comments of his own. As ask if he thought it worked, because as I re- the pictures were mounted, the pattern of Le- call, Leger grew quite red. This was the only ger's critique would become apparent. Pic- time when I felt the language barrier created tures that did not interest him much were us- some misunderstanding. As time passed, my ually greeted with the comment, "Bon, bon, French improved.

Another unusual incident that occurred to- wards the fall of that year was the opening at the Opera of the production "Bolivar" for which

t Leger had done the stage sets. A group of stu- t dents from the atelier were invited to attend I the dress rehearsal. We arrived at the Opera

r and there was some confusion at the door about our being admitted. At this time, Leger arrived, burst through our group and made it abundantly clear that we were to be admitted pronto. The sets were magnificent, although the opera itself fared less well.

The interesting aspect about the sets was that Leger designed them on a series of trans- parent curtains. It was a demonstration of his concept of visual space controlled in depth. When all of the curtains were down, the effect was stunning and the large, bold design shapes of his work took on a quality of mys- tery. The curtains rose as the action of the opera progressed, each curtain containing the designs on which the action was based. The costumes of the players had also been designed by Leger, and the cumulative effect was indeed grand. As in the case with many of Leger's works, his concepts translated into other me- dia gained in the transition.

About this time, the students in Leger's at- elier had a show at the Galerie Mai on the Left Bank. This show was reviewed in the Paris edition of the Herald Tribune and a number of the participants were accused of being "in the iron grip of Leger's influence." This was a source of worry to a number of stu- dents there; that is, how best to benefit by Le- ger's vast knowledge without being caught in this so-called iron grip. I might add, incidently, that the feeling of excitement about this atel- ier show was unlike any show of students' work I have witnessed in the States. After this event, I believe that Leger himself made efforts to encourage students to maintain their own direction. Within this frame-work, many, in- cluding myself, were most benefited. It was during this time that I became better ac- quainted with Leger.

Every two or three months, the atelier would hold a concours where Leger would read a prepared talk and answer questions. These were most lively affairs, and often- times, Leger expounded on what he described as a return to the object for easel painting, but he also stressed his belief in abstract art in connection with architectural space. On these occasions, we would be shown movies, either Leger's famous film, Ballet Mecanique, or the film made by the Museum of Modern Art during Leger's stay in this country in World War II. One scene in the latter that always provoked a certain amount of laughter was of Leger painting directly out of the tube. Many of us had seen his palette encrusted with small mountains of paint.

Also, less formal events were held in the at- elier, one being the Christmas party. This was a party that was very amusing. Leger partici- pated in the various dances and games with great good humor. Such times as these were the few occasions when Leger did not main- tain a completely formal dignity with the stu- dents. Leger, with the aid of Madame and Monsieur Bauquier, kept a strong sense of order in his atelier. As an example, I attended one morning critique and received a criticism

ART JOURNAL XXII 1 40

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on a gouache that I wanted to correct. So, be- tween the morning and afternoon critique, I made another and submitted it. When the new gouache appeared, Leger demanded who had made it, and when I indicated it was mine, he said, "Ah non, you received a critique in the morning and no one receives two in the same day."

During critique time, Leger was usually quite serious but affable. On occasion, he would display a certain capacity for irony. A Swiss student came in one day to show a port- folio of tempera paintings done in the splash and drip style. The paintings were spread in front of Leger near an equally splattered and dripped-upon portfolio in which the student had brought them. Leger leaned forward, gazed at the pictures intently several minutes, and finally murmured, pointing at the portfolio, "Ah, ca, c'est mieux." This particular student never returned. Leger felt, as he often stated, that this type of painting was rather old hat and that Kandinsky had done this forty years earlier.

Of course, the cardinal sin in work presented for critique was to have them found to be "il- lustratif." Although Leger advocated what he termed a return to the object, these objects had to be thoroughly assimilated in the plastic frame-work of the painting. If this had not been

done, it drew either ironic remarks or a pite- ous gaze from Leger. This is not to indicate that Leger did not give serious and careful attention to many abstract works, particularly if they were designated as wall or mural pan- els. As he stated many times, with modern ar- chitecture, abstract art and pure unadulterated color worked hand in hand.

Leger's ideas of the distinction between the "illustratif," the easel painting, and mural dec- oration were clear and definite. His conception of his own relation to French tradition was also clear. He made the statement on several occa- sions that Cezanne was his father, and Poussin his grandfather. This latter remark of his en- abled me to understand more clearly a critique I once received from him concerning a figure composition. It was that the human figure should be used in such a manner as to be static even though the position suggested mo- tion. It was a frozen motion in which the hu- man figure was utilized as were all other ob- jects and elements of the composition.

Leger stated many times that to suceessfully incorporate figures and objects in a plastic solution was the most difficult problem. I have always felt that in his large painting, Le Petit Dejeuner, which has the driving force and precision of a locomotive, this theory was pushed to such an extent that the figures of the

three women become incidental to the thrusts and tensions of the painting.

About this time, I was to leave France to re- turn to this country whereupon Leger ex- claimed, "What, you are going back to that cultural desert?" Before leaving, however, I paid a visit to his studio where he was work- ing on one of the series of Les Constructeurs. It was not until I was back in New York that I saw the maquettes for the stained glass windows in the Church of the Sacred Heart at Audincourt, France. From the sample piece re- produced in the show at the Museum of Mod- ern Art, I realized this was an example of how magnificently Leger's work lends itself to, or is enriched by, the use of a medium such as stained glass or mosaic. The seventeen de- signs in gouache for the windows reveal his tremendous grasp of the architectural volume involved. I look forward to the time when I can see these windows in place and also to visit his museum in Biot.

Before I left Paris, the atelier had had its an- nual show, this time at the Galerie Jeanne Bou- cher. Upon arriving at the opening that day, I had the pleasant experience of discovering that I had been awarded the Prix de L'Annee, and with it a gift of a gouache by Leger with a personal inscription that is to this day one of my proud possessions and is framed and hanging on the wall.

E D L E R

Old Masters

Modern Paintings

Sculpture

14 EAST 57th STREET, NEW YORK 22 PARIS

85 bis Faubourg, St. Honore LONDON

34 St. James's Street

K N 0

ART JOURNAL XXII 1 42

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