Fernand LÉGER (1881-1955) - Lot 22

Fernand LÉGER (1881-1955) Project for a stained-glass window, model No. 4, for the library of the University of Caracas, circa 1954. Gouache on paper. Signed and titled lower right. Annotated "N°G.52" on the back on the mount. 40 x 69 cm Exhibition : II Biennial of the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art, June-October 1955, N° 108 (label on back). Bibliography: Yvonne Brunhammer, Fernand Léger, L'œuvre monumental, 5 Continents Editions, Milan, 2005, the stained glass and gouache in the Musée de Biot reproduced on p. 119. Related work: Maquette pour le vitrail de l'université de Caracas, circa 1954, gouache on paper, 40.5 x 70.5 cm, donation of Nadia Léger and Georges Bauquier, Musée national Fernand Léger, Biot. A certificate from the Comité Léger can be provided on request and at the purchaser's expense. A certificate of inclusion in the Répertoire des œuvres sur papier de Fernand Léger, in preparation by Madame Irus Hansma, dated November 4, 2020, will be given to the purchaser. Contacted by Venezuelan architect Carlos Villanueva, Fernand Léger sends him twelve models for two mosaics to be installed in the garden and two models for a stained glass window in the library. Fernand Léger wrote to Villanueva: "Not being present, it's up to you to decide, given the light or the visual distance". To enable the ornaments to be put in place, Léger sent a few more notes. Even in its absence, the stained-glass window designed by Barillet and installed on site is a source of great satisfaction. In the library lobby, it filters the light and projects a harmonious polychromy onto the floor, making the stained glass a genuine invitation to enter the reading rooms.