Deity. Costume design for the ballet La Création du monde (The Creation of the World)

Deity. Costume design for the ballet La Création du monde (The Creation of the World) is a seminal work executed by Fernand Léger in 1922. This pencil on paper drawing is classified as a French drawing from the post-Cubist period, reflecting Léger’s sustained shift toward highly structured, mechanical forms. The piece was created in preparation for the landmark Swedish Ballets production, La Création du monde, which premiered in Paris later that year. Featuring music by Darius Milhaud and a libretto by Blaise Cendrars based on African creation myths, the ballet utilized innovative sets and costumes designed entirely by Léger, solidifying his central role in the avant-garde theatrical scene.

Léger’s design for the Deity figure embodies the aesthetic principles he developed during the early 1920s, often associated with Purism and his "tubist" period. The figure is rendered using precise pencil lines, emphasizing the cylindrical and geometric articulation of the body. Unlike traditional spiritual renderings, this figure is depersonalized, constructed from simplified shapes that suggest both mechanical rigidity and potential movement. This preparatory drawing illustrates the intersection of modern fine art and performance design, where Léger applied his architectural approach to the human form, treating the dancer as a structured component within a larger, mechanized visual system. The medium of pencil on paper allows for a focus on structural clarity and form, highlighting the proposed dimensionality of the final constructed costume.

As a preparatory drawing, this 1922 piece provides essential insight into the creative process behind one of the most important modernist ballets of the period. It showcases the artist’s significant contribution to the French avant-garde, blending his Cubist background with the then-emerging interest in primitive and African art that heavily inspired the ballet’s theme. The drawing, classified formally as a Drawing, is held within the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, where it serves as a key example of Léger's oeuvre and his versatility across painting, drawing, and monumental theatrical design.