Le Corbusier: Art and Architecture - A Life of Creativity

Photo © FLCRed Violin (1920)Oil on canvas

Part of every day of my life has been devoted to drawing. I have never stopped drawing and painting, looking wherever I could for the secrets of form. You don't have to look any further than this for the key to my work and research.../Le Corbusier

Architectural giant, the founder of modernism, the greatest architect of the 20th Century - just some of the accolades that have been attached to Swiss born Frenchman Le Corbusier (1887-1965). It is little known that Le Corbusier devoted his mornings to painting and sculpture; architecture only started in the afternoons when he went to his office.


Photo: Watanabe Osamu courtesy Mori Art Museum

The exhibition examines Le Corbusier the man, revealing the individual behind the facade in a comprehensive presentation of about 250 paintings, furniture and architectural artifacts.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is a number of full-scale reproductions of architectural spaces, starting with a walk-in model of his atelier in Paris, complete with furniture and other personal trappings.

Photo: Watanabe Osamu courtesy Mori Art MuseumAtelier Reproduction

A full-size reproduction of a two-story apartment from his "Unité d'Habitation" (1945-52) in Marseilles give visitor a chance to experience Corbusier's creations first hand.


Photo: Watanabe Osamu courtesy Mori Art MuseumUnité d'Habitation, Marseille Reproduction

Photo: Watanabe Osamu courtesy Mori Art MuseumUnité d'Habitation, Marseille Reproduction

Le Corbusier's architecture is of course known and loved worldwide - a constant point of reference and discussion, and never far from the minds of even contemporary architects.

Here Le Corbusier's major architectural and urban planning works are exhibited in drawings, models, photographs, and videos, in accordance with the principles that guided them.

Among the many projects are Notre-Dame-du-Haut (1950-55) in Ronchamp, France and The Monastery of Sainte-Marie de La Tourette (1953-60) in Eveux, France.

arcspace visited La Tourette in 2001 and send a message, with many photos, to all our readers asking for help with the renovation La Tourette is currently undergoing.


Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

In 1928 Le Corbusier worked on the Minimum Automobile "Maximum" project aimed towards creating a vehicle of maximum efficiency. This design
streamlined the body of the automobile and maximized its utility.

Photo: Watanabe Osamu courtesy Mori Art Museum

Le Corbusier died in 1965 never returning to his beloved cottage "Le Petite Cabanon," in Cap Martin in the South of France, after a morning swim.
There is also a full scale reproduction of the cottage in the exhibition.

Photo courtesy Cassina S.p.A.Reproduction (1952-2006 ) CASSINA S.p.A.

The buildings created by le Corbusier around the world today stand as witnesses to his artistic intelligence. Beyond the man who built them, they now belong to the history of modern art and architecture. They also represent a living heritage./Jean-Pierre Duport, President of the Le Corbusier Foundation

The Plans of Le Corbusier are documented on a series of DVDs published in cooperation with the Fondation Le Corbusier.

Le Corbusier and the Continual Revolution in Architecture
By Charles Jencks

Because of severe restrictions we were not allowed to photograph in the exhibition. Instead we give you a photo looking out from the "Tokyo City View" platform two floors below the museum.


Photo: arcspace