Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French artist. He initially trained as an architect's apprentice before moving to Paris in 1900. Although he was denied entry to the École des Beaux-Arts, Léger attended classes there and at the Académie Julian. His early works were influenced by Impressionism, but his style evolved significantly after encountering the Cubism of Picasso and Braque, particularly during the Cézanne retrospective in 1907. From 1911 to 1914, Léger's art became more abstract, focusing on primary colors and black and white. In 1912, he had his first solo exhibition at Galerie Kahnweiler in Paris.

During World War I, Léger served in the military, and it was during this time that his "mechanical" period emerged, characterized by tubular and machinelike forms. In the early 1920s, he collaborated with writer Blaise Cendrars on films and created sets and costumes for Ballets Suédois. In 1924, Léger established an atelier with Amédée Ozenfant, and in 1925, he presented his first murals at Le Corbusier's Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau. He visited the United States for the first time in 1931 and had major exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago in 1935. Léger lived in the United States from 1940 to 1945 but returned to France after the war. In the years leading up to his death, he worked on various projects, including book illustrations, large-scale paintings and murals, stained-glass windows, mosaics, ceramic sculptures, and set and costume designs.