La Fin du monde: A Modernist Book

This digital research project brings together—for the first time—interactive scans of two versions of an artist’s book: La Fin du monde filmée par l’Ange N.-D. (The End of the World Filmed by the Angel of Notre Dame), written by poet Blaise Cendrars and illustrated by artist Fernand Léger in 1919. The deluxe copy held by the Research Center (edition 15 of 25) includes Léger’s original maquette (mock-up) for the published book, bound into the back. A standard copy held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France accompanies Cendrars’s unique proofs for the manuscript. The project allows users to examine and compare these documents, offering a glimpse into the artist’s bold choices of composition and color as well as the creative process shared between writer and artist.

The resource also includes the first English translation of Cendrars’s text, four specially commissioned essays by scholars, including two by lead researcher Christopher Green, and a video analysis by a paper conservator about The Met object.

This digital research project from the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art is a collaboration with the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Materials are made available for research purposes only. All rights are owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art unless otherwise indicated. For more information, please see Terms and Conditions.