Experience of Architecture and Art

This book neatly depicts the tension between two different artistic media in the work of Le Corbusier. It is said he used to paint in the morning before spending the afternoon in his design studio. In the 1920s when he co-founded the "purist" movement, the forms in his paintings found their way into his buildings, and vice versa. But his later works show a different sort of synthesis - the remarkable Ronchamp pilgrimage chapel, with its shadows and coloured light, achieved an almost painterly effect - but without paint. This book explores this theme in six French locations where the work of Le Corbusier is to be found - Notre Dame du Haut at Ronchamp, Firminy, Saint-Marie-de-la-tourette at Lyon, E 1027 at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (which features the architect's figurative murals as interior decoration) and the nearby Le Cabanon.