Young Woman in Profile

Women, presented in allegorical compositions or as symbols of human anguish, appear to have been a favourite subject of Léger. In this work, a young woman seen in profile looks away, either because of modesty or embarrassment. The viewer has the impression of observing her surreptitiously. The importance given to form, particularly the bonnet, which echoes the shape of the clouds, the little white circles on her blue dress and the verticality of the foliage, contributes to the work’s modernity, while clear lines define a network of fine hatching in subtle hues. If this portrait was created using a model, the young woman’s dress would link it to the artist’s stay in Belgium in 1904–1905.