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Lot Essay
Eric Mouchet has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Taureau by Le Corbusier is a print study for the oil painting Taureau XII (N. Jornod & J-P. Jornod 421), of the same year. This work, characteristic of Le Corbusier’s best-known style, depicts a subject he painted numerous times, the head of a bull. The provenance of this work is unique as it once belonged to Dame Jane Drew (1911-1996), the famous English Modern Architect and close friend of Le Corbusier. Drew first met Le Corbusier at the Congres International d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM) and participated to the founding of Modern Architectural ReSearch (MARS) with him. She was later asked to design the city of Chandigarh in India by the prime minister but due to her commitments to other projects, she convinced Le Corbusier to take the lead on the development, which would become one of his best known. Drew, her husband Maxwell Fry, and Le Corbusier’s cousin Pierre Jeanneret lived in Chandigarh for three years during the 1950s, each designing specific buildings. The present work was a gift from Le Corbusier to Dame Jane Drew in the 1950s, as evidenced by the inscriptions at the lower right of the composition.
Taureau by Le Corbusier is a print study for the oil painting Taureau XII (N. Jornod & J-P. Jornod 421), of the same year. This work, characteristic of Le Corbusier’s best-known style, depicts a subject he painted numerous times, the head of a bull. The provenance of this work is unique as it once belonged to Dame Jane Drew (1911-1996), the famous English Modern Architect and close friend of Le Corbusier. Drew first met Le Corbusier at the Congres International d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM) and participated to the founding of Modern Architectural ReSearch (MARS) with him. She was later asked to design the city of Chandigarh in India by the prime minister but due to her commitments to other projects, she convinced Le Corbusier to take the lead on the development, which would become one of his best known. Drew, her husband Maxwell Fry, and Le Corbusier’s cousin Pierre Jeanneret lived in Chandigarh for three years during the 1950s, each designing specific buildings. The present work was a gift from Le Corbusier to Dame Jane Drew in the 1950s, as evidenced by the inscriptions at the lower right of the composition.