As one of the great pioneers of architectural modernism, Le Corbusier’s legacy can still be seen in some of the world’s great cities. The Swiss-French architect helped change the face of the modern metropolis with a new style of urban planning, and the theories and principles he devised during his five-decade career had a seismic effect in the field. But how did these ideas develop? A joint exhibition in Paris is bringing a lesser-seen side of Le Corbusier’s creative imagination into the public eye, delving into what the artist called his “atelier de la recherche patiente” or “workshop of patient research”.
From the very beginning of his working life, the man born as Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris devoted half of each day to the visual arts as a source of inspiration for his architectural practice. Galerie Eric Mouchet and Galerie Zlotowski have assembled a revealing collection of paintings, drawing and sketches the great man produced in pursuit of inspiration. The link between the two sides of his creative life is illustrated by work such as Le Main Ouvert (a sketch using the symbolic open hand he recreated numerous times in public sculpture) and indirectly in the studies of proportion and scale that would form the basis of his important golden ratio “modulor” architectural system and his “five points” principle. Le Corbusier: Panorama of a Lifetime’s Work runs at Galerie Eric Mouchet and Galerie Zlotowski from 23 April, with a closing date of 13 June at the former venue, and 25 July at the latter.
Taureau (Bull), 1956
Sheet metal plaque, enameled
(Unique work, painted with enamel on sheet metal by Le Corbusier and
fired in the studio of Jean Martin in Luynes), 46 x 55 cm
Framed within the frame and signed in the bottom left hand corner : Le Corbusier / 2/56
Monogrammed and dated on the back: L-C 56
Courtesy Galerie Eric Mouchet et Galerie Zlotowski
©FLC/ADAGP, 2015
COPYRIGHT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, 2015
Femme lisant (woman reading), 1936
Collage of Salubra wallpaper and Chinese ink on paper, 37.6 x 25.4 cm
Courtesy Galerie Eric Mouchet et Galerie Zlotowski
©FLC/ADAGP, 2015
COPYRIGHT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, 2015
Main et silex (hand and flint stone)
, 1951
Fountain pen with fine nib and Chinese ink on charcoal over collage,
mounted on parchment,
33 x 26,3 cm
Courtesy Galerie Eric Mouchet et Galerie Zlotowski
©FLC/ADAGP, 2015
COPYRIGHT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, 2015
Deux Femmes (two women), 1948
Collage, gouache, ink and graphite pencil on paper, 48.5 x 36.7 cm
Courtesy Galerie Eric Mouchet et Galerie Zlotowski
©FLC/ADAGP, 2015
COPYRIGHT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, 2015
Étude pour Le Dé Violet (Study for a violet die), 1926
Pencil and pastel on paper, 27.4 x 35.5/36 cm
© Fondation Le Corbusier, ADAGP, 2015
Courtesy Galerie Eric Mouchet – Galerie Zlotowski
COPYRIGHT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, 2015
Corde et verres (rope and glasses), 16th May 1954
Newspaper collage, gouached paper and charcoal on paper, 48 x 62 cm
Courtesy Galerie Eric Mouchet et Galerie Zlotowski
©FLC/ADAGP, 2015
COPYRIGHT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, 2015
La Main Ouverte (The open hand), 1950
Gouache on paper, 63.5 x 48.3 cm
Signed and dated on the bottom left-hand corner: Le Corbusier / 50
Courtesy Galerie Eric Mouchet et Galerie Zlotowski ©FLC/ADAGP, 2015
COPYRIGHT FONDATION LE CORBUSIER, PARIS, 2015
