Les trois musiciennes

"The destiny of the tapestry of today emerges: it becomes the mural of the modern age” – Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier, born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, was one of the fathers of 20th century modern architecture and urbanism, also recognised as a great modern painter and sculptor. At the end of the 1940s, Le Corbusier began collaborating with Pinton Frères, the famous tapestry maker in Aubusson, to translate his drawings into tapestries and would go on to realise around thirty designs in this medium.

Le Corbusier described his tapestries as “Muralnomad”, nomadic murals. He chose tapestries to decorate large interiors including the Palace of Justice in Chandigarth, India. Their large size is significant in that he believed that they should cover the entire wall and that they could, or even should, touch the ground to become part of the architecture instead of being simply a decorative object. Le Corbusier conceived of tapestry as a relevant new medium to suit the demands of modern civilisation where people move houses, areas or towns more regularly. Thus the painted mural as fixed installation required greater flexibility, which could be achieved by translation into a hanging and flexible medium of the tapestry.

Le Corbusier created specific designs for tapestries. He did not want to simply transpose his paintings into another form but instead, considered them independent from his paintings. In this sense the present lot is a significant component within his core artistic oeuvre.