Transmission of energy

1937

Gouache and pencil on paper

50.9 x 100 cm

 

Donated by Nadia Léger and Georges Bauquier

Musée national Fernand Léger, Inv. MNFL 97053.

 

 

Fernand Léger was commissioned for a large 10 x 5 m canvas to adorn a physics room of the Palais de la Découverte, presented at the international exhibition in Paris in 1937. Hydraulic energy and the natural water cycle are placed alongside each other in the sketch drawn up at the size of the final panel. Large constructions in metal beams – energy-generating plants – make a stand by their sheer mass in the composition, which is split down the centre by a torrent of water flowing from a sky lit up by a colourful rainbow. The monumental wall panel – covering the entire wall – was produced by Léger’s students, including Pierre Waëmare and Asger Jorn. It is now on display at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris.