Art with Style and Grace: Le Corbusier

by L.R.

Le Corbusier's Beginning

Le Corbusier, most known for his architectural art advancement, was born October 6, 1887 in La Chaux-de-fonds, Switzerland. Le Corbusier was born Charles Edoard Jeanneret; however, after a visit to Paris in 1920 Le Corbusier adopted the name of his maternal grandfather using it as his nom d'architecture (Rybczynski.) Le Corbusier was born to a highly skilled watch engraver and a mother who was a pianist and music teacher. The family was protestant (Kennedy).

Rachel Kennedy said Le Corbusier attended a trade school at age fifteen and also attended L’Ecole d’art to learn watch case engraving. However, spotted early by a tutor, L’Eplattenier, Le Corbusier was set onto the direction to be an architect. Le Corbusier had hopes of being a painter; however, the persistent L’Eplattenier helped him embrace the career of architecture. L’Eplattenier exposed Le Corbusier to many influential figures that inspired the style of Le Corbusier. Some of these influential figures were William Morris, John Rushkin, Plato, and Pythagorus (Kennedy).

Le Corbusier was one of the greatest city planners. As restated by Rybczynski:

"Modern town planning comes to birth with a new architecture," he [Le Corbusier] wrote in a book titled simply Urbanisme. "By this immense step in evolution, so brutal and so overwhelming, we burn our bridges and break with the past."

His Mission

A town is a tool. Towns no longer fulfill this function. They are ineffectual; they use up our bodies, they thwart out souls. The lack of order to be found everywhere in them offends us; their degradation wounds our self-esteems and humiliates our sense of dignity. They are not worthy of the age; they are no longer worthy of us. (Le Corbusier 1)

Le Corbusier showed a great disinterest in the way the towns were being built in the quote above. His need for new and different way of building was seen as the disgust spurts from his lips. Towns had become too traditional and monotonous. However, the people were changing, thus requiring a new town, new buildings, new ways of building, or the town would not be worthy of the people that have to live in it. Le Corbusier was offended by the usual and normal typical architecture so he began to do it his way, which was new and vibrant.

The Dwelling again puts before us the architectural problems in the demand for totally new methods of building, the problem of new plans adapted to modern life, the problem of an aesthetic in harmony with the new spirit. (Le Corbusier 2)

This quote was simply Le Corbusier’s way of saying there were problems that could only be fixed by building in a new and better, more satisfying, way. Some of the ways he began to do that was building with sharp edges instead of the traditional square, changing the size and adding vibrant coloring to the buildings.

As stated by Rybczynski, “By 1950 he had changed course, abandoning Purism, as he called it, for something more robust and sculptural.” According to Rybczynski, Le Corbusier began to have heavy bold and sculptured work. An example was Notre Dame du Haut, which Le Corbusier built from reinforced concrete in France (1955)(Mathews).

Le Corbusier unlike many others included bright and bold colors on his buildings. Le Corbusier came into the twentieth century with a refreshing attitude that showed his need for a new town. Le Corbusier believed in the shape of the buildings.

In many of his buildings he used sharp edges such as the 1958 Philips pavilion (Besset 212)which inspired by the vivid shaping but amazed by the razor-sharp animation of the tip. Along with the sharp edges, Le Corbusier had soft rectangular buildings with cozy insides. His use of geometry was seen in all his buildings and the lessons of beauty he learned from Plato were again evident.

No other architect could compare according to Rybczynski, “Wright [Le Corbusier’s best competition] was a maverick; Le Corbusier dominated the architectural world.” However, Le Corbusier was just following his dreams of building a better more worthy city. He was following his goals and acting much like his wise words state “Man walks in a straight line because he has a goal and knows where he’s going; he has made up his mind to reach some particular place and he is going straight to it” (Le Corbusier 10). However, all great things must come to an end somehow. Thus the great Le Corbusier died August 27th 1965 in Roquebrune, France.

Le Corbusier was indeed the leading architect of his time. However, he has also impacted the twenty-first century. His buildings and cities, many still in use today, show a clever artistic talent.

A city! It is the grip of man upon nature. It is a human operation directed against nature, a human organism both for protection and for work. It is a creation. Poetry also is a human act- the harmonious relationships between perceived images. All the poetry we find in nature is but the creation of our own spirit. A town is a might image which stirs our minds. Why should not the town be, even to-day, a source of poetry. (Le Corbusier 1).

The unique values that Le Corbusier upheld can be seen in his buildings. To some a building is just some kind of concrete, but to Le Corbusier it was an art, poetry . . . in motion.

The ending of a great architect, Le Corbusier, the most influencial architect of the 20th century

According to an architect in Time (May 5, 1961), Le Corbusier was an amazing man and an even more amazing architect. ‘Corbu's’ personality and buildings have at times angered, shocked, outraged and offended people, but by the overwhelming vote of his colleagues everywhere, he is at 73 the most influential architect alive.” Le Corbusier is the most influential architect of the twentieth century.

Works Cited

Rybczynski, Witold. "The Architect Le Corbusier." Time Magazine. June 8, 1998. February 8, 2003 http://www.time.com/time/time100/artists/profile/lecorbusier.html.

This webpage created by L.R. for History and Thought of Western Man, Rich East High School. Last update, 28 May 2003.

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