70 - FERNAND LÉGER (1881–1955) (AFTER) – SIMONE BAUQUIER COLLECTION

FERNAND LÉGER (1881–1955) (AFTER) – SIMONE BAUQUIER COLLECTION *La Branche* (also known as *La Grande Branche*), based on the original model created around [1951]; a non-commercial proof from the original edition Sculpture. Bronze; nuanced brown and black patina. Lost-wax casting. Limited posthumous edition by the Fernand Léger National Museum. Sits on an antique oak base. Signed F. LÉGER, with the inscription H.C. Musée F. LÉGER, and bears the stamp C. VALSUANI “lost wax” on the back near the base. Sculpture only: 65x37x14 cm Oak pedestal: 6.5x40x40 cm Important: A certificate of authenticity from the Léger Committee may be provided to the purchaser upon request and at the purchaser’s expense. Provenance: - Simone Bauquier Collection; Château de Callian. - Mrs. X, work acquired by inheritance from the previous owner. Related Paintings: This bronze is comparable to the oil on canvas titled *Éléments sur fond bleu (Racines sur fond bleu)* (1941), listed as no. 1081 in the *Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings (VI)* by Fernand Léger. Public Collections and Related Works: - Fernand Léger National Museum, Biot – Another bronze cast of our sculpture model is held in this institution’s collections under inventory number MNFL 02075. - Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee (Wisconsin) – Another bronze cast of our sculpture model is held in the collections of this institution under inventory number M1960.47. Public Collections and Related Ceramic Works: Our bronze can be compared to the polychrome glazed ceramic casts of our sculpture model, held at the Fernand Léger National Museum, Biot [inv. MNFL 99027], at the Art Institute of Chicago [inv. 1952.1006], and at the Baker Museum, Naples, Florida [inv. 2016.1.132]. Exhibition: Fernand Léger – National Museum in Warsaw, February–March 1971; National Museum in Kraków, April 1–May 1, 1971; National Museum in Poznań, May 15–June 15, 1971; Łódź Museum of Art, July 1–August 1, 1971. Another bronze cast of our sculpture model was exhibited during this event (no. 231 or 232). Bibliography and related works: - Katharine Kuh – Léger – Catalog of the traveling exhibition organized at the Art Institute of Chicago (April 2–May 17, 1953); at the San Francisco Museum of Art (June 15–August 23, 1953); at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (October 6, 1953–January 3, 1954), published by the Art Institute of Chicago, 1953. A glazed ceramic cast of our sculpture model reproduced on page 57 (no. 90). - Henri Perruchot, “The Fernand Léger Museum in Biot” in *Jardin des arts*—No. 138, May 1966. Another bronze cast of our sculpture model reproduced on page 58. - Fernand Léger, Ceramics – Catalog published on the occasion of the exhibition held at the Fernand Léger National Museum, Biot (March 24–July 2, 2000), Réunion des musées nationaux Press, Paris, 2000. A glazed ceramic proof of our sculpture model reproduced on page 37 (no. 66). - Yvonne Brunhammer – Fernand Léger, the Monumental Work – Éditions 5 Continents, Milan, 2005. Glazed ceramic proofs of our sculpture model reproduced on pages 134 (ill. 140) and 136, alongside an archival photograph of Nadia and Fernand Léger (ill. 142).