Synopses & Reviews
From acclaimed biographer and cultural historian, author of
Balthus and
Patron Saints—the first full-scale life of le Corbusier, one of the most influential, admired, and maligned architects of the twentieth century, heralded is a prophet in his lifetime, revered as a god after his death.
He was a leader of the modernist movement that sought to create better living conditions and a better society through housing concepts. He predicted the city of the future with its large, white apartment buildings in parklike settings—a move away from the turn-of-the-century industrial city, which he saw as too fussy and suffocating and believed should be torn down, including most of Paris. Irascible and caustic, tender and enthusiastic, more than a mercurial innovator, Le Corbusier was considered to be the very conscience of modern architecture.
In this first biography of the man, Nicholas Fox Weber writes about Le Corbusier the precise, mathematical, practical-minded artist whose idealism—vibrant, poetic, imaginative; discipline; and sensualism were reflected in his iconic designs and pioneering theories of architecture and urban planning.
Weber writes about Le Corbusiers training; his coming to live and work in Paris; the ties he formed with Nehru . . . Brassaï . . . Malraux (he championed Le Corbusiers work and commissioned a major new museum for art to be built on the outskirts of Paris) . . . Einstein . . . Matisse . . . the Steins . . . Picasso . . . Walter Gropius, and others.
We see how Le Corbusier, who appreciated goverments only for the possibility of obtaining architectural commissions, was drawn to the new Soviet Union and extolled the merits of communism (he never joined the party); and in 1928, as the possible architect of a major new building, went to Moscow, where he was hailed by Trotsky and was received at the Kremlin. Le Corbusier praised the ideas of Mussolini and worked for two years under the Vichy government, hoping to oversee new construction and urbanism throughout France. Le Corbusier believed that Hitler and Vichy rule would bring about “a marvelous transformation of society,” then renounced the doomed regime and went to work for Charles de Gaulle and his provisional government.
Weber writes about Le Corbusiers fraught relationships with women (he remained celibate until the age of twenty-four and then often went to prostitutes); about his twenty-seven-year-long marriage to a woman who had no interest in architecture and forbade it being discussed at the dinner table; about his numerous love affairs during his marriage, including his shipboard romance with the twenty-three-year-old Josephine Baker, already a legend in Paris, whom he saw as a “pure and guileless soul.” She saw him as “irresistibly funny.” “What a shame youre an architect!” she wrote. “Youd have made such a good partner!”
A brilliant revelation of this single-minded, elusive genius, of his extraordinary achivements and the age in which he lived.
Synopsis
Weber delves into the life of one of the most influential, admired, and maligned architects of the 20th century. Le Corbusier, designer of the United Nations headquarters, was a leader of the controversial modernist movement that sought to create a better society through innovative urban planning.
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of Wrestling with Moses comes a fascinating, accessible biography of the most important architect of theand#160;twentieth century.and#160;and#160; Modern Manand#160;is a riveting biography of Le Corbusierand#8212;a man who invented new ways of building and thinking.and#160;Modern Manand#160;is a penetrating psychological portrait of a true genius and constant self-inventor, as well as a sweeping tale filled with exotic locales, sex and celebrity (he was a lover of Josephine Baker), and high-stakes projects. In Flintand#8217;s telling, Corbusier isnand#8217;t just the grandfather of modern architecture but a man who sought to remake the world according to his vision, dispelling the Victorian style and replacing it with something never seen before. His legacy remains controversial today, as the world grapples with how to house its skyrocketing urban population and the cult of the and#8220;starchitectand#8221; continues to grow. Modern Manand#160;is for readers fascinated by the complex personal lives and outsized visions of both groundbreaking artists and dazzling, charismatic innovators like Steve Jobs.and#160;
About the Author
Nicholas Fox Weber was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from Columbia College and Yale University. He is the director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and the author of thirteen previous books, among them The Clarks of Cooperstown, Balthus, Patron Saints, and The Art of Babar. He and his wife, the novelist Katharine Weber, live in Bethany, Connecticut, and Paris. They have two daughters.
Table of Contents
Introduction:and#8195;The Ascent
1.and#8194;The Roar
2.and#8194;The Masterpiece
3.and#8194;The Debut
4.and#8194;The Opportunist
5.and#8194;The Comeback
6.and#8194;The Getaway
7.and#8194;The Church
8.and#8194;The City
9.and#8194;The University
10.and#8194;The Departure
Epilogue:and#8195;The Legacy