THREE WOMEN
FERNAND LÉGER, 1921-22
So we got three women, no clothes, lounging around. You've seen this picture a thousand times. It's the oldest setup in European painting. Goddesses, harem girls, centuries of nudes arranged on cushions. This is the most classical thing Léger ever painted. Except look at the skin. Polished like a fender. Arms like pipe fittings, seams where the parts meet. And the faces. The same face, three times, like they came off the same line. He said it straight out: "For me the human face, the human body are no more important than keys or bicycles." Which is a hell of a thing to say about people. And then the weird part. He paints them as parts, and what comes out is the calmest scene in the building. Coffee. A book. A black cat asleep on the right. Three people so relaxed they've gone smooth. It's called Le Grand Déjeuner, by the way. The Big Breakfast. Six feet by eight, the size painters used to save for battles and coronations. He gave it to breakfast. And the look is familiar for a reason. Ocean liners, hotel bars, the Chrysler Building. None of that exists yet. Art Deco won't even have a name for years. This breakfast got there early. Last thing. Check the eyes. Not one of them is looking at you. Nudes perform. That was always the deal, somebody arranged them for you to look at. These three could not care less. Reading, stirring a cup. You could walk away and nothing in here would change. Maybe that's the modern part. Not the metal. The not caring.