The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2024

The Aviator

The Aviator

1920
(French, 1881–1955)
Framed: 80.1 x 106.7 x 4.6 cm (31 9/16 x 42 x 1 13/16 in.); Unframed: 65 x 92 cm (25 9/16 x 36 1/4 in.); Former: 90.5 x 117.2 x 7 cm (35 5/8 x 46 1/8 x 2 3/4 in.)
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Did You Know?

Trained as an architect to admire pure, geometric forms, Léger wrote that while fighting on the Argonne Front during World War I he was "stunned by the sight of the breech of a 75 millimeter in the sunlight. It was the magic of light on the white metal."

Description

The abstract, circular shapes in this painting suggest the movement of a whirling propeller and infuse the composition with dynamic energy. After serving in the French army during World War I, Léger embraced the beauty of modern machinery and dedicated his life to creating art for every social class. He was among the earliest artists to embrace Cubism, but developed it into a personal style by combining abstract, geometric forms with populist subjects that proclaim his optimistic faith in technological progress.
  • (D. H. Kahnweiler, Paris, France)
    (Alfred Flechtheim, Berlin,Germany)
    Kofler-Herni Coll.
    (Galerie Beyeler, Basel Switzerland)
    1981
    (Perls Galleries, New York, NY, 1981, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1981-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Major Leger Painting Acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art,” March 31, 1981, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1981.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 69, no. 2 (1982): 39–82. Reproduced: P. 42 www.jstor.org
    Henning, Edward B. “The Aviator: A Major Painting by Fernand Léger.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 69, no. 3 (1982): 87–93. Reproduced: cover, P. 92, fig. 12; Mentioned: P. 87-93 www.jstor.org
    Blass, Brigit. Aviatik und Avantgarde: Fliegen und Schweben. Köln, Germany: Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Presse & Information, 1988. Reproduced: p. 27
    Fernand Léger Retrospective. New York, New York: Helly Nahmad Gallery, 2005. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 38-39, no. 5
    Sims, Lowery S. The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. Reproduced: p. 17, fig. 1
  • Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).
    Fernand Léger Retrospective. Helly Nahmad Gallery, New York, NY (organizer) (February 22-May 28, 2005).
    The Year in Review for 1981. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Fernand Léger Retrospective. Helly Nahmad Gallery, New York, NY (February 22-May 28, 2005).
  • {{cite web|title=The Aviator|url=false|author=Fernand Léger|year=1920|access-date=25 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1981.16