Le Corbusier Collection Paint

When imagining the work of Le Corbusier, vivid colors may not come into play.  Most photographs of his work were in black and white.  Our perceptions of early Modernism — at the Bauhaus design school in the 1920s or the purist villas that Le Corbusier was building in France — are shaped by the photographs taken at the time, which were all in black and white.  But, in fact, modernists interiors were much more vivid than that and Le Corbusier happen to be a gifted colorists who used rich, vibrant colors in his interiors.

Black & white photo of Le Corbusier building in Berlin.

Le Corbusier building in Berlin, with color.

Le Corbusier apartment building in Marseille.

Le Corbusier Center.

Developed from the 1920’s and onward, the 63 shades are super vivid.  Apparently, the paint is made from natural mineral pigments (non toxic), including lapis lazuli and “green umber from ancient sources on the island of Cyprus.”  Most paint manufactures today produce their colors from industrious pigments.

There is also a book available, a 174-page book titled “Le Corbusier Polychromie Architecturale” available on Amazon.

Article via Dwell.com