Artwork
Two Discs in the City
Two Discs in the City is an oil painting by the Cubism Synthetic artist Fernand Léger. It dates from 1919 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
About this work
Overview
Fernand Léger’s 1919 work titled Two Discs in the City is an oil painting that belongs to his abstract period. Executed shortly after World War I, the canvas presents a non‑representational arrangement of forms that reflects Léger’s interest in mechanistic and urban themes. The piece is part of the permanent collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
Technique & Style
The composition is dominated by two oversized circular discs that appear to rotate within a field of intersecting geometric elements.
The composition is dominated by two oversized circular discs that appear to rotate within a field of intersecting geometric elements. Triangles, rectangles and smaller circles in saturated reds, blues and yellows radiate outward, while faint silhouettes of buildings and figures suggest a cityscape backdrop. The juxtaposition of flat color planes and implied motion creates a lively, kinetic atmosphere.
History & Provenance
Since its creation, Two Discs in the City has remained in public ownership, entering the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich, where it is displayed among other works from Léger’s early twentieth‑century oeuvre. The museum’s acquisition underscores the painting’s relevance to the development of abstract art in Europe after the Great War.
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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…
