Fernand Leger's Celebrations

2nd grade students studied artwork created by French modern artist, Fernand Leger (1881 – 1955). It was discussed how this artist used colors to tell a story, many times this story was showing a circus or party environment. He also used thick black lines to outline forms and show movement. Students chose one of three themes: party, parade, or circus. They were then encouraged to overlap forms and fill up the page with different sized objects and people. Students first sketched in pencil, went over these drawings with black tempera paint, and (when dry) added color using colored pencils.