How does Man and Woman (Léger) elucidate its Description?
Léger rejected many aspects of cubism, such as multiple simultaneous vantage points, but retained the trait of reducing figures to their most basic, geometric components. To that end, the woman in this painting consists of curves and the color orange, while the man is depicted in columns and blue. They are scarcely distinguishable from the background, an industrial latticework of beams and girders. In this way, Léger illustrated his belief that, although it might be a struggle, humans could maintain their humanity in a mechanized age, coexisting with technology and burgeoning urbanization. Léger's technique underscores this message, with flat brushwork emulating mass production. The disjointed figures force rapid visual shifts, which simulates the increasing sensory complexity of the machine age.
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