The Conservator’s Eye: A Close Look at “La Fin du monde filmée par l’ange N.-D.”

Join Rachel Mustalish, Sherman Fairchild Conservator in Charge of Paper Conservation at The Met, for a close examination of a unique volume containing the 1919 printed book and original maquette for "La Fin du monde filmée par l’ange N.-D.," a collaboration between the novelist and poet Blaise Cendrars and the artist Fernand Léger. Housed in a leather binding created in 1975, Leger’s original illustrations and the final printed product offer a glimpse into the artist’s bold choices of composition and color as well as the creative process shared between writer and artist.

Featured Object:

Blaise Cendrars (author) and Fernand Léger (artist). “La Fin du monde filmée par l’Ange N.-D.,” 1919. Illustrated book with twenty-two pochoirs published by Éditions de la Sirène, Paris, and eleven compositions in gouache and pencil, in embossed leather binding, 13 3/8 × 11 1/8 × 1 5/8 in. (34 × 28.3 × 4.1 cm). Collection of the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Library, Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art (PN1997 .F465 1919 LALRC Quarto)