Spotlight: Simply Le Corbusier
Born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, Le Corbusier was a world-renowned architect and writer famous for his contributions to Modern Architecture. Although he was born in Switzerland, he became a French citizen in his 30s and was a pioneer in studies of modern design and was focused on providing citizens of large, crowded cities with more space and better living conditions.
Le Corbusier studied at the La-Chaux-de-Fonds Art School under Charles L’Éplattenier. Le Corbusier’s architecture teacher at the school was René Chapallaz, who had a huge influence on his earliest houses. During his early years, Le Corbusier traveled around Europe, sketching structures. Of these, his sketchings of the Parthenon would become famous and he would praise the structure in his collection of essays titled “Towards an Architecture” (Vers une architecture) released in 1923.
In 1918, Le Corbusier met and teamed up with the Cubist painter Ame’de’e Ozenfant and together they published a manifesto, Après le Cubisme, established a new movement, Purism, and established the Purist Journal, L’Esprit Nouveau. It was in the publication of the first journal in 1920 that Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris adopted Le Corbusier as his pseudonym. It was a reflection of his belief that anyone can reinvent himself.
Le Corbusier’s most famous works, the Villa Savoye, were located in the suburbs of Paris. The villa was made of reinforced concrete and combined classic and modern elements. The villa was predominately white, with little decoration, reinforcing Le Corbusier’s thoughts that white was functional, practical, and that color distracted from the landscape.
There is so much more to study about Le Corbusier. His most famous buildings, his paintings, and his furniture designs are just a few of the interesting things to absorb about him. Skip over to Simply Le Corbusier and be prepared to be dazzled! If you have any questions, send a question to the expert via the Forum. And don’t forget to take the Simply Le Corbusier poll and while you’re at it, send a friend an electronic postcard!
Happy Learning!