Overview

Le Corbusier is one of the outstanding artistic figures of the twentieth century. He was as influential in his field as Picasso, Matisse, Freud, Stravinsky, Chanel, Diaghilev, Joyce, Woolf were in theirs: a pioneer who changed the way we see and think, the way we live our lives. His influence has been enormous - from his experiments in communal living to his extraordinary churches, such as the Ronchamp chapel, luxury houses for rich patrons, and furniture. Despite his huge importance and popularity, little is known about the man and Nicholas Fox Weber's biography will be the first to uncover the personality behind the work, using letters, diaries, drawings and photographs which no one else has been allowed to make use of before now. Le Corbusier was born in 1887 in a Swiss watchmaking town high in the Jura. His father was a craftsman, his mother a music teacher who lived to the age of 101. As a young man, Corbusier had a strong interest in the prophets. He was obsessed with a biography of Christ and there is a theory that he took the name le Corbusier (he was born Charles Edouard Jeaneret) to establish a link with 'le Christ'. He delighted in order and kept to a strict routine: gymnastics at 6:30 am, painting in the morning after breakfast, and architectural work in the afternoon. At the same time he was a sensualist who would get pleasure from such simple acts as putting his hand on a vase. Nicholas Fox Weber has been given the full support of the Corbusier Foundation and has been encouraged by John Richardson (Picasso's biographer).

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Nicholas Fox Weber is a graduate of Yale and Columbia Universities. He is the author of several books (including BALTHUS and THE ART OF BABAR) and the Director of the Albers Foundation. He writes frequently for the NEW YORKER.

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