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The Smoker

1914
Not on view
For Léger, smoke and smokers were symbols of modern industrial life and the working class, with whom he closely identified. The smoker’s face is seen in three-quarter view. His head is turned to the left (the back of it is represented by the elongated half-oval shape at upper center), and his red pipe juts out, with puffs of smoke floating up to the upper left corner. The figure’s massive body is a conglomeration of rotund swirling parts. This is the type of painting that led Parisian critic Guillaume Apollinaire to characterize Léger’s work as “cylindrical painting.”

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Smoker
  • Artist: Fernand Léger (French, Argentan 1881–1955 Gif-sur-Yvette)
  • Date: 1914
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 39 1/2 x 32 in. (100.3 x 81.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.21
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Six Designs for Abstract Wall Decorations, Fernand Léger French, Graphite and gouache
Six Designs for Abstract Wall Decorations
Fernand Léger
ca. 1940–1955
'Starfish and Swimmers': Design for a Mosaic or Mural, Fernand Léger French, Brush and yellow, red, green and beige wash, and graphite
'Starfish and Swimmers': Design for a Mosaic or Mural
Fernand Léger
ca. 1942
The Bargeman, Fernand Léger French, Oil on canvas
The Bargeman
Fernand Léger
1918
Mechanical Elements, Fernand Léger French, Oil on canvas
Mechanical Elements
Fernand Léger
1920
Rooftops, Fernand Léger French, Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
Rooftops
Fernand Léger
1915

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