Artwork
Reclining Woman
Reclining Woman is an oil painting by the Cubism Synthetic artist Fernand Léger. It dates from 1922 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
About this work
Overview
Fernand Léger’s 1922 oil on canvas, titled Reclining Woman, is part of the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The work presents a nude female figure in a horizontal pose, rendered with Léger’s characteristic emphasis on planar forms and vivid coloration.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows a woman lying on her back, her head turned leftward. Her dark bob haircut is punctuated by two side buns, while her arms are positioned, left hand resting on the abdomen, right hand supporting the head. The legs are bent, the right leg crossing over the left, creating a relaxed yet dynamic posture.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the painting employs a Cubist vocabulary of flattened surfaces, bold outlines, and interlocking geometric shapes. The background consists of stark black, white, and yellow forms, circles, rectangles, and triangles, that interact with the figure, reinforcing Léger’s interest in mechanistic abstraction and visual rhythm.
History & Provenance
Created in the early 1920s, the work reflects Léger’s post‑World War I period, when he integrated modernist abstraction with figurative content. It entered the Art Institute of Chicago’s holdings through acquisition, where it remains on display as part of the museum’s modern art collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style. His boldly simplified…
