LEGER, FERNAND. 1881-1955.


Le Cirque. Paris: Teriade, 1950. Folio (425 x 320 mm). 63 lithographs by Léger, 34 printed in colors and 29 in black-and-white, both hors- and in-texte; title page and text design by Leger (after his manuscript). Original color lithographed wrappers, contents loose as issued, on Arches wove paper, custom cloth chemise and slipcase, incorporating original title label."Cirque is Leger's master graphic work, a compendium of 34 color lithographs and 29 in black- almost half his print output. The text is Léger's own and his themes are the circus and the countryside; from these touchstones of his inspiration Léger extracts the principles of his art and his life. There can be no doubt that Cirque stands as his testament" (Saphire, p 98). Conceived, written, and drawn by Leger, created solely for this publication, Le Cirque includes Leger's lithographed handwritten text, marking a break with his machine aesthetic and embracing his lifelong passion with the Circus, which had long been visible throughout his work. From his text: "Go to the circus. Nothing is as round as the circus. It is an enormous bowl in which circular forms unroll. Nothing stops, everything is connected, the ring dominates, commands, absorbs" (trans, Alexandra Anderson, Functions of Painting, p 77). One of the most important Livre d'artistes of the twentieth century, Le Cirque returns Leger to the circus of his youth in Normandy "to extract the principles of his art and life." Artist and the Book 164; Castleman Century of Artists Books 95; Saphire 44-106.