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Aleksandra Simic UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date:___________________ I, _________________________________________________________, hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in: It is entitled: This work and its defense approved by: Chair: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Le Corbusier's Purist Period and the Concept of Truth in Architecture A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE In the School of Architecture and Interior Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning August 2006 by Aleksandra Simić B.S. in Architecture University of Belgrade, Serbia, September 2003 Committee chair: John E. Hancock Committee members: Nnamdi Elleh David Saile Abstract Le Corbusier remains a very challenging and elusive subject in architectural scholarship today due to the complexity and depth of his work. Critical analyses on his work generally stress one particular design theme or interpretive concept, such as the classical tradition, universalization, machine aesthetics, synthesis of the arts, or mysticism and ambiguity; thus, they never fully explain the depth of his art. This research demonstrates that what underlies all these concepts is Le Corbusier’s open quest for “the truth”--something that grounds the making of architectural art as well as the world in general. The search for “truth” was Le Corbusier’s major, inner concern in his formative and Purist years, and remained a central concept for him throughout his whole life--a basic and primordial abstract notion from which he derived all other concepts that defined his art works visually and structurally. To undertake such a search, with the goal of discovering fundamental “truth(s)” about the nature of things around us, is very much the paradigm of Modernity itself. The goals of this research are, first, to analyze and define more thoroughly Le Corbusier’s different interpretations of truthful architecture, and second, to explain how they were translated into visual language. Through an examination of Le Corbusier’s written works from the Purist Period (1918 to 1928), four different concepts of truth in architecture are revealed: truth of nature, lyrical truth, historical truth, and ethical truth. The research also traces the translation of these abstract ideas into the universal visual language or formal principles of his buildings, paintings, and city plans from the Purist Period. With these findings, the research offers deeper understanding of Le Corbusier’s works. The reasons why he used motifs like cubic shapes, cylindrical columns, horizontal strip windows, white plaster walls, enclosed balconies, and the other recognizable elements that distinguish his architecture, are elucidated. This research also provides new insight into his influence by the broad system of values of Modernity. Keywords: Le Corbusier, Purism, truth, truthful architecture, visual language Acknowledgments I am deeply thankful to Professor John E. Hancock for the support and encouragement of my research work since the very beginning. His insightful comments and enormous patience motivated me through the difficult times. I would also like to express my gratitude to Professors Aarati Kanekar, Nnamdi Elleh, and David Saile whose inspiring remarks and critiques helped me stay on the right track. My thanks as well goes to the remaining SAID faculty members involved in the MS ARCH Program and the fellow students for the exciting and stimulating discussions in our classes. I would also like to thank the University of Cincinnati for the financial support. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my husband, Nebojša Pantelić, for the constant support and encouragement. Table of contents List of figures..................................................................................................................... 2 List of tables....................................................................................................................... 4 Preface................................................................................................................................5 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................. 9 2. Literature review ....................................................................................................... 13 3. Le Corbusier’s search for truthful architecture ..................................................... 22 A search in the early years ................................................................................. 22 Purist or “golden” years..................................................................................... 32 1. The truth of nature ................................................................................... 37 2. The lyrical truth........................................................................................ 42 3. The ethical truth ....................................................................................... 46 4. The historical truth................................................................................... 48 4. Le Corbusier’s Purist artworks................................................................................ 53 General Purist ideas and design concepts......................................................... 53 Translation into the formal elements of painting and architecture ............... 55 1. Themes and objects.................................................................................. 57 2. Concept of space...................................................................................... 61 3. Rules of composition ............................................................................... 63 4. Color ........................................................................................................ 66 Urbanism ............................................................................................................. 69 5. Conclusions................................................................................................................. 75 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 80 List of figures Figure 1. Illustration from the article “Sur la plastique” in L’Esprit Nouveau, no 1, 1920, in L’Esprit Nouveau: Purism in Paris, 1918-1925, Carol S. Eliel (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 28. Figure 2. Still Life with Red Violin, 1920, Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm, Minoru Mori Collection, Tokyo, in Le Corbusier and the Continual Revolution in Architecture, Charles Jencks (New York: Monacelli, 2000), 115. Figure 3. Pages 164-165 from Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Cubism and Abstract Art (Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press). Figure 4. Wash basin in the Villa Savoye, View from the interior exit of the garage, in Walking through Le Corbusier: A Tour of His Masterworks, José Baltanás (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2005), 63. Figure 5. Representation of objects as in descriptive geometry in Still Life, 1920, Oil on canvas, 80.9 x 99.7 cm, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Van Gogh Purchase Fund, 1937, in L’Esprit Nouveau: Purism in Paris, 1918-1925, Carol S. Eliel (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 26. Figure 6. Villa Stein-De Monzie, Garches, 1927, Axonometric drawing, Foundation Le Corbusier, Paris, in Architecture in the Twentieth Century, Peter Gössel and Gabrieke Leuthäuser (Köln, London: Taschen, 2001), 172. Figure 7. Still life from the Pavillion de L’Esprit Nouveau, 1924, Oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm, Foundation Le Corbusier, Paris, in L’Esprit Nouveau: Purism in Paris, 1918-1925, Carol S. Eliel (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 65. Figure 8. Use of regulating lines in paintings as illustrated in L’Esprit Nouveau, no 17, 1922, in L’Esprit Nouveau: Purism in Paris, 1918-1925, Carol S. Eliel (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 55. Figure 9. Still Life with Egg, 1919, Oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm, Foundation Le Corbusier, Paris, in L’Esprit Nouveau: Purism in Paris, 1918-1925, Carol S. Eliel (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 170. Figure 10. Pale Still Life with Lantern, 1922, Oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm, Foundation Le Corbusier, Paris, in L’Esprit Nouveau: Purism in Paris, 1918-1925, Carol S. 2 Eliel (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art in association with Harry N. Abrams, 2001), 54. Figure 11. Villa La Roche-Jeanneret, Paris, 1923-25, Interior, in Le Corbusier: Architect of the Twentieth century, Kenneth Frampton (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers), 119. Figure 12. Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1929-31, North view, in Architecture in the Twentieth Century, Peter Gössel and Gabrieke Leuthäuser (Köln, London: Taschen, 2001), 172. Figure 13. Villa La Roche-Jeanneret, Paris, 1923-25, Interior, Photograph by John E. Hancock, Courtesy of author. Figure 14. Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1929-31, Living room and terrace, in Walking through Le Corbusier: A Tour of
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