Nature Morte

Le Corbusier
Nature Morte
Collection: Modern Tapestry
Material: Wool, hand woven, from Aubusson
Dimensions : 350 x 250 cm – 138 x 98 in.
Date: circa 1950

Le Corbusier “Nature Morte” Tapestry
This tapestry faithfully captures the essence of Le Corbusier’s captivating masterpiece, “Nature morte” (Still Life). This vibrant and eclectic work reflects the artist’s wide-ranging interests and influences. The painting is set against a background of a vaguely industrial landscape, with a bird, two bottles, a basket, a cheese grater, and a pipe in the foreground. The bird, bottles, and cheese grater are rendered in a stylized, geometric style, while the basket and pipe are more realistic. The colors are bright and bold, with a predominance of red, blue, and green.

This tapestry is a testament to Le Corbusier’s ability to combine different elements and styles into a cohesive and visually appealing whole. It is also a reminder of the artist’s interest in both architecture and art. The bird, bottles, and cheese grater could be seen as symbols of Le Corbusier’s architectural work, while the basket and pipe could be seen as more personal objects.

The Swiss-born French architect and urban planner Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known by his pseudonym Le Corbusier, was also a painter, sculptor, decorator, and man of letters, thus refuting the age-old incompatibility between architect and artist! In the field of architecture, he is one of the leading representatives of the Modern Movement, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Alvar Aalto.

After 1947, the draftsman established partnerships for sculpture and tapestries from 1948. After 1950, he became interested in collages. In the workshop of Jean Martin, from 1953, he engraved enamels on steel sheet. The dissemination of his lithographs is immense. His production of drawings, watercolors, and canvases is gigantic. A few still lifes are scattered throughout this considerable work, some of which have served as cartoons for tapestries made in the workshops of Aubusson.