After donating 78 Cubist masterpieces to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in April, philanthropist and cosmetics mogul Leonard A. Lauder will add Fernard Léger’s The Village to the bequest. Lauder has been interested in the painting for several years and provided the Met with the funds necessary to acquire the work. The painting went on display in the museum’s Lila Acheson Wallace Wing for Modern and Contemporary Art this week, where it will remain on view through the end of the year.
Painted by Léger in 1914, The Village depicts a church and neighboring buildings surrounded by trees. The country scene differs from most of the French artist’s paintings, which tend to capture more urban environments. The Village was in a private collection for nearly a century and was not publicly exhibited during that time. Thomas P. Campbell, the Met’s director and CEO, said, “Leonard Lauder is dedicated to creating the greatest collection of Cubist art in the world and to ensuring that these works will be accessible to the millions of people who visit the Met. Léger’s Village certainly demonstrates that unparalleled commitment. It is a rare and beautiful painting, in pristine condition.”
Lauder’s original gift, which is estimated to be worth around $1 billion, includes works by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Juan Gris. Together, these works tell the story of a movement that transformed the landscape of modern art. Cubism departed from the traditional interpretations of art, challenged conventional perceptions of space, time, and perspective, and paved the way for abstraction, a concept that dominated the art world for much of the 20th century.
The entire Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection will go on view at the Met on October 20, 2014. The exhibition will remain open to the public through February 16, 2015.
