Photomontage, Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux, Paris, 1937 © FLC Paris/ProLitteris
Le Corbusier is undoubtedly one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. Dozens of exhibitions have highlighted various aspects of his oeuvre. For the first time, however, “The Constructed Image: Le Corbusier and Photography” is examining his relationship with photography.
Le Corbusier and photography
Le Corbusier (né Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, 1887-1965) is admired and even worshiped by architects. The grandfather of modernism has an innumerable number of creations to his name. His oeuvre comprises more than 300 designs, ranging from small holiday cottages to entire towns. He wrote thirty-four books, gave lectures, and in between also designed furniture, sculpted, painted, and photographed. Where did he find the time?
The Swiss-born polymath settled in Paris, and had yet another important talent. Le Corbusier was an ingenious self-promoter. His public image was as well cultivated as that of a rock star. He even had a trademark look: a well-fitting suit, round spectacles in a black, horn frame, and a bowtie. Le Corbusier soon learned that photography is a powerful medium to highlight your image and distribute your work. He constructed that image with the help of several renowned photographers, including Fred Boissonnas, Lucien Hervé, and René Burri, but the architect was also a passionate photographer himself.
The Swiss-born polymath settled in Paris, and had yet another important talent. Le Corbusier was an ingenious self-promoter. His public image was as well cultivated as that of a rock star. He even had a trademark look: a well-fitting suit, round spectacles in a black, horn frame, and a bowtie. Le Corbusier soon learned that photography is a powerful medium to highlight your image and distribute your work. He constructed that image with the help of several renowned photographers, including Fred Boissonnas, Lucien Hervé, and René Burri, but the architect was also a passionate photographer himself.
Le Corbusier et Pierre Jeanneret, Pavillon suisse, Cité internationale universitaire, Paris, 1929-1933 © FLC Paris/ProLitteris
His relationship with photography is the leitmotif through “The Constructed Image: Le Corbusier and Photography”, an exhibition organised by the Musée des Beaux-Arts in his native town La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland to commemorate the architect’s 125th birthday. Le Corbusier’s life and work are sketched by photos he took himself or commissioned. The exhibition, now to be seen at CIVA, is arranged as a journey in six stages: a photographic biography, his secret travel photos, the way he used photography for promotional ends, his publications, an overview of the monumental images in his buildings, and the contemporary interpretation of the architect’s work.
A journey in images
The first stage is devoted to Le Corbusier’s life. There are quite a number of photos of Le Corbusier posing in front of his models, design drawings, or with clients and businessmen. In the 1920s, Le Corbusier started concentrating on the way his work was presented to the public. He employed Lucien Hervé to be his personal photographer. Nowadays, Hervé is considered an autonomous artist, but that is certainly not how Le Corbusier saw it. He wrote the following to Hervé: “Do not forget that I am the one who designs and builds houses, and reaps praise or criticism.”
His relationship with photography is the leitmotif through “The Constructed Image: Le Corbusier and Photography”, an exhibition organised by the Musée des Beaux-Arts in his native town La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland to commemorate the architect’s 125th birthday. Le Corbusier’s life and work are sketched by photos he took himself or commissioned. The exhibition, now to be seen at CIVA, is arranged as a journey in six stages: a photographic biography, his secret travel photos, the way he used photography for promotional ends, his publications, an overview of the monumental images in his buildings, and the contemporary interpretation of the architect’s work.
A journey in images
The first stage is devoted to Le Corbusier’s life. There are quite a number of photos of Le Corbusier posing in front of his models, design drawings, or with clients and businessmen. In the 1920s, Le Corbusier started concentrating on the way his work was presented to the public. He employed Lucien Hervé to be his personal photographer. Nowadays, Hervé is considered an autonomous artist, but that is certainly not how Le Corbusier saw it. He wrote the following to Hervé: “Do not forget that I am the one who designs and builds houses, and reaps praise or criticism.”
“A Secret Photographer” presents a selection of the thousands of images the architect made over his long career, including a considerable number of travel photos, but also a large series of form studies. For example, we see the form of a fishing boat on the beach at Le Piquey reappear as the roof on the chapel at Ronchamp.
L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui, Boulogne, 1938 © FLC Paris/ProLitteris
The next step brings us to Le Corbusier’s use of photography in his publications. He chose the formats, the quality of the paper, the font, the illustrations, and the carefully chosen lay-outs.
The next step brings us to Le Corbusier’s use of photography in his publications. He chose the formats, the quality of the paper, the font, the illustrations, and the carefully chosen lay-outs.
Le Corbusier et Pierre Jeanneret, Pavillon suisse, Cité internationale universitaire, Paris, 1929-1933 © FLC Paris/ProLitteris
The following section highlights the importance of photography to Le Corbusier, as reflected in the monumental prints he integrated in his buildings. Of particular note are the photo frescoes he used in the Swiss pavilion at the Cité Universitaire in Paris and the photomontage, inspired by Russian Constructivism, that he made for the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux at the 1937 Paris World Exhibition.
The following section highlights the importance of photography to Le Corbusier, as reflected in the monumental prints he integrated in his buildings. Of particular note are the photo frescoes he used in the Swiss pavilion at the Cité Universitaire in Paris and the photomontage, inspired by Russian Constructivism, that he made for the Pavillon des Temps Nouveaux at the 1937 Paris World Exhibition.
A Swiss Utopia in Punjab 1990 © Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne / Thomas Fletchner
The last section is reserved for contemporary photographers who use Le Corbusier’s legacy as their subject. These photos show how the architect’s work has evolved over the years. The series “A Swiss Utopia in Punjab” by Thomas Flechtner is particularly striking.
“The Constructed Image: Le Corbusier and Photography” demonstrates that there is more to the man with the bowtie. Besides being a masterful architect, Le Corbusier was a fanatical public relations specialist.
The Constructed Image: Le Corbusier and Photography > 6/10, di/ma/Tu > vr/ve/Fr 12 > 18.00, w-e 10.30 > 18.00, CIVA, Kluisstraat 55 rue de l’Ermitage, Elsene/Ixelles, 02-642.24.50, www.civa.be
The last section is reserved for contemporary photographers who use Le Corbusier’s legacy as their subject. These photos show how the architect’s work has evolved over the years. The series “A Swiss Utopia in Punjab” by Thomas Flechtner is particularly striking.
“The Constructed Image: Le Corbusier and Photography” demonstrates that there is more to the man with the bowtie. Besides being a masterful architect, Le Corbusier was a fanatical public relations specialist.
The Constructed Image: Le Corbusier and Photography > 6/10, di/ma/Tu > vr/ve/Fr 12 > 18.00, w-e 10.30 > 18.00, CIVA, Kluisstraat 55 rue de l’Ermitage, Elsene/Ixelles, 02-642.24.50, www.civa.be
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