Le Corbusier (1887-1965) - Zonder titel

A rare painting by the French-Swiss architect and artist Le Corbusier. It is an oil on canvas measuring 50 x 40 cm. The painting is signed lower right with the monogram L.C. and dated "55". On the back it is numbered "12979" and dated again but now with 1952. Presumably the work was created in 1952 but the artist later made some changes and then finally signed and dated it.

Provenance
Directly purchased from the artist in 1957 by the Müller family from Neuss, Germany. A (digital) copy of Le Corbusier's thank-you letter to the Müller family will be sent to the buyer.

Le Corbusier (1887–1965), born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris in La Chaux-de-Fonds, was an influential Swiss-French architect, urbanist, and artist. As a pioneer of modernism, he introduced the "five points of architecture," including supporting columns (pilotis) and free facades. His legacy is found worldwide in iconic buildings.

Early life and education
Born in the Swiss watchmaking town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Jeanneret trained as an engraver and chaser. Under the influence of his mentor Charles L'Eplattenier, he shifted to architecture. He undertook extensive travels across Europe and worked briefly with renowned architects such as Auguste Perret in Paris and Peter Behrens in Germany.

In 1917 he settled permanently in Paris. He adopted the pseudonym Le Corbusier (a variant of the name of his great-grandfather, Lecorbésier) when he launched his revolutionary architectural journal L'Esprit Nouveau in 1920. He developed the "five points of the new architecture" (Les cinq points de l'architecture moderne).

His painting
After moving to Paris in 1917, he met painter Amédée Ozenfant, who became his most important artistic mentor. Le Corbusier saw painting as his principal creative outlet and a "secret laboratory." Together with Amédée Ozenfant, he founded Purism in 1918, a style that purified Cubist forms into clear, mathematical still lifes. His paintings formed the basis for his architectural principles.

Purism (1918–1925)
In 1918 they co-authored the manifesto Après le Cubisme, which laid the groundwork for Purism. The artists blended decorative elements from Cubism and focused on objectivity, harmony, and clean compositions of everyday objects (such as bottles, glasses, and guitars).

Together they launched the avant-garde magazine L'Esprit Nouveau, from which the architectural pseudonym Le Corbusier emerged. From the late 1920s he loosened the strict Purist rules and painted in a freer, more organic style with human figures, as in his series of the "female nudes."

His paintings, which he made every morning before walking into his architecture studio, served as a blueprint for his use of color and spatial compositions in iconic buildings. His prolific oeuvre comprises hundreds of works that are today seen worldwide and are auctioned.