A vse-taki ona vertitsia (And All the Same the World Goes Round)

The influential illustrated book A vse-taki ona vertitsia (And All the Same the World Goes Round) by Fernand Léger, produced in 1922, exemplifies the collaboration between visual artists and the avant-garde literary scene. This significant French publication utilized the letterpress printed medium, transforming the conventional book format into an integrated artwork known as the livre d'artiste. Léger’s involvement in book design during this period highlights his dedication to extending his aesthetic principles beyond the canvas and into reproductive forms that reached a wider audience.

Classified specifically as an Illustrated Book, this piece perfectly encapsulates the period’s embrace of the machine aesthetic. The work showcases Léger's distinctive style from the early 1920s, characterized by bold, simplified geometric forms. These elements, borrowed from the visual language of industry, are adapted here to the structure of the printed page. The precision and mechanical repetition inherent in the letterpress process resonated deeply with the artist's focus on industrialized clarity, distinguishing it as a major contribution to French graphic art during a period of intense artistic experimentation. The deliberate interplay between typography and abstract imagery challenges traditional narrative structures.

The original edition of A vse-taki ona vertitsia remains a crucial artifact of post-Cubist modernism. Its current placement within the collection of the Museum of Modern Art affirms its institutional recognition and enduring value. Although a physically limited-run object, the artistic concepts presented by Léger in 1922 have influenced generations of designers. The popularity of this seminal work means that scholarly prints and reproductions are widely utilized for research, expanding its accessibility beyond the physical confines of the original object and maintaining its influence within the public domain of visual culture study.