LEGER FERNAND: (1881-1955)
LÉGER FERNAND: (1881-1955) French painter, sculptor and filmmaker. A good A.L.S., F Léger, three pages, 4to, n.p., 17th October 1933, to a gentleman, in French. Léger acknowledges receipt of his correspondent´s letter and continues to outline the available options, ´1. Conférence sur peinture actuelle et spécialement sur l´objectivité picturale. 40 minutes 2. Causeriè dix minuts sur le cinema avant-garde et les raisons d´avoir fait le Ballet Mécanique en 1924 premier film sans scenario. 10 minutes 3. Presentation "Ballet Mécanique" 17 minutes 4. Presentation "Etoile de Mer" film de Man Ray 13 minutes´ (Translation: ´1. Lecture on contemporary painting, with a particular focus on pictorial objectivity. 40 minutes 2. A ten-minute talk on avant-garde cinema and the reasons behind the making of Ballet Mécanique in 1924 – the first film without a script. 10 minutes 3. Screening of "Ballet Mécanique" 17 minutes 4. Screening of "Etoile de Mer", a film by Man Ray. 13 minutes´), further explaining ´Ceci en même temps que l´exposition j´emporterai tableaux, dessins et gouaches. Dites.moi dans quelles conditions elles pourront être expediées. Je prendrai s´il le faut avec moi en le démontant deux grandes toiles (60) pour donner un peu plus d´intérêt à l´exposition + toile de 15 et 30. Dites moi le nombre. Pour la date je pense que Décembre c´est bien - entre le 10 et le 25 ou un peu avant (cela donne le temps d´organiser la chose)´ (Translation: ´In conjunction with the exhibition, I shall bring along paintings, drawings and gouaches. Please let me know under what conditions they can be dispatched. If necessary, I’ll take two large canvases (60) with me, having dismantled them, to add a little more interest to the exhibition, plus canvases measuring 15 and 30. Please let me know the exact number. As for the date, I think December would be fine – between the 10th and the 25th, or a little earlier (that will give us time to organise everything)´). Léger also asks his correspondent to arrange for the screening of two films in Italy, ´Je les remporte avec moi donc il s´agit simplement d´une présentation et les films repartent´ (Translation: ´I’m taking them with me, so it’s simply a matter of showing them, after which the films will be returned´) and concludes by writing ´Du point de vue financier je sais très bien que on ne peut faire une grosse recette, néanmoins si vous pouvez organiser les conférences et les films dans plusieures villes cela pourra faire peut-être une certaine somme´ (Translation: ´From a financial point of view, I’m well aware that we can’t expect to make a huge profit, but if you can organise the talks and film screenings in several towns, it might bring in a reasonable sum´). A fine letter illustrating Léger's continuing commitment to the avant-garde, bringing his painting into direct dialogue with the experimental cinema of the 1920s through a programme combining exhibition, lecture and film. Some very light, extremely minor age wear, VG
Léger's Ballet Mécanique (1924), made in collaboration with the American filmmaker Dudley Murphy and with the participation of Man Ray, was one of the landmarks of early avant-garde cinema. Dispensing with conventional narrative, the film employs rapid montage, repetition and rhythmic sequences of human faces, geometric forms, machinery and everyday objects to create what Léger conceived as a purely visual spectacle; surviving versions vary considerably in length, one running to approximately seventeen minutes, as specified by Léger in the present letter. The proposed screening alongside Man Ray's L'Étoile de mer (1928), an experimental Surrealist film based upon a poem by Robert Desnos, is particularly appropriate and demonstrates Léger's continuing identification in 1933 with the pioneering cinematic experiments of the previous decade.
LÉGER FERNAND: (1881-1955) French painter, sculptor and filmmaker. A good A.L.S., F Léger, three pages, 4to, n.p., 17th October 1933, to a gentleman, in French. Léger acknowledges receipt of his correspondent´s letter and continues to outline the available options, ´1. Conférence sur peinture actuelle et spécialement sur l´objectivité picturale. 40 minutes 2. Causeriè dix minuts sur le cinema avant-garde et les raisons d´avoir fait le Ballet Mécanique en 1924 premier film sans scenario. 10 minutes 3. Presentation "Ballet Mécanique" 17 minutes 4. Presentation "Etoile de Mer" film de Man Ray 13 minutes´ (Translation: ´1. Lecture on contemporary painting, with a particular focus on pictorial objectivity. 40 minutes 2. A ten-minute talk on avant-garde cinema and the reasons behind the making of Ballet Mécanique in 1924 – the first film without a script. 10 minutes 3. Screening of "Ballet Mécanique" 17 minutes 4. Screening of "Etoile de Mer", a film by Man Ray. 13 minutes´), further explaining ´Ceci en même temps que l´exposition j´emporterai tableaux, dessins et gouaches. Dites.moi dans quelles conditions elles pourront être expediées. Je prendrai s´il le faut avec moi en le démontant deux grandes toiles (60) pour donner un peu plus d´intérêt à l´exposition + toile de 15 et 30. Dites moi le nombre. Pour la date je pense que Décembre c´est bien - entre le 10 et le 25 ou un peu avant (cela donne le temps d´organiser la chose)´ (Translation: ´In conjunction with the exhibition, I shall bring along paintings, drawings and gouaches. Please let me know under what conditions they can be dispatched. If necessary, I’ll take two large canvases (60) with me, having dismantled them, to add a little more interest to the exhibition, plus canvases measuring 15 and 30. Please let me know the exact number. As for the date, I think December would be fine – between the 10th and the 25th, or a little earlier (that will give us time to organise everything)´). Léger also asks his correspondent to arrange for the screening of two films in Italy, ´Je les remporte avec moi donc il s´agit simplement d´une présentation et les films repartent´ (Translation: ´I’m taking them with me, so it’s simply a matter of showing them, after which the films will be returned´) and concludes by writing ´Du point de vue financier je sais très bien que on ne peut faire une grosse recette, néanmoins si vous pouvez organiser les conférences et les films dans plusieures villes cela pourra faire peut-être une certaine somme´ (Translation: ´From a financial point of view, I’m well aware that we can’t expect to make a huge profit, but if you can organise the talks and film screenings in several towns, it might bring in a reasonable sum´). A fine letter illustrating Léger's continuing commitment to the avant-garde, bringing his painting into direct dialogue with the experimental cinema of the 1920s through a programme combining exhibition, lecture and film. Some very light, extremely minor age wear, VG
Léger's Ballet Mécanique (1924), made in collaboration with the American filmmaker Dudley Murphy and with the participation of Man Ray, was one of the landmarks of early avant-garde cinema. Dispensing with conventional narrative, the film employs rapid montage, repetition and rhythmic sequences of human faces, geometric forms, machinery and everyday objects to create what Léger conceived as a purely visual spectacle; surviving versions vary considerably in length, one running to approximately seventeen minutes, as specified by Léger in the present letter. The proposed screening alongside Man Ray's L'Étoile de mer (1928), an experimental Surrealist film based upon a poem by Robert Desnos, is particularly appropriate and demonstrates Léger's continuing identification in 1933 with the pioneering cinematic experiments of the previous decade.
