In 1955, Fernand Léger (1881-1955) bought a villa in the town of Biot, near Cannes, called Mas Saint-André, with the intention of installing polychrome ceramic sculptures in his garden, but died soon afterwards. The museum was built on the property after the death of the artist in 1955 by his wife Nadia and his assistant Georges Bauquier to designs by the architect Andreï Svetchine. Construction began in 1957, and the museum opened in 1960.

Today, the Léger museum in Biot contains the greatest single collection of the artist’s work covering all his techniques and aspects of his career. Our lecture will focus on the great master’s unique contribution to the birth of modern art. With his appropriation of Cubism and abstract geometry but also advertising, mechanical objects and commercial lettering Léger’s ambition was to create a popular version of modern art art aimed at his fellow citizens rather than sophisticated collectors.