LE CORBUSIER

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Status, price and estimation of the artist LE CORBUSIER

Price of a painting by Le Corbusier: 20,000 – 3,500,000€.

Estimate of a drawing or watercolour by the artist for auction: 1,000 – 100,000€.

Le Corbusier’s status for a print or a lithograph: 200 – 4,000€.

Price of a signed piece of furniture at auction: 1,000 – 80,000€.

If you would like to have a painting by the artist appraised, our experts are at your disposal for a free appraisal.

The Jeannerets: craftsmen from father to son 

Le Corbusier was born Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, son of a craftsman enameller and an artist musician. He grew up in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a Swiss town in the canton of Neuchâtel. There he was educated according to the fashionable German pedagogy of Friedrich Froebel.

It was at the turn of the century, in 1900, that he began training as a chisel engraver at the art school in his region. He then joined a company specialising in the watchmaking industry where, as an apprentice craftsman, he produced an engraved case, which is now in the collections of the Fine Arts Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Affected by a weakness in his eyes, he joined the training of Charles L’Eplattenier, who, appreciating his evolution, oriented him towards architecture. Nevertheless, his passion for painting never left him, and during his life he produced paintings with figurative motifs.

Le Corbusier: an avant-garde architect

After travelling in Italy and then in Germany, Jeanneret returned to his native region where he took part in the creation of the Villa Stolzer, whose drawings he began during his stay in Vienna.

Assigned to carry out research on buildings in Germany, this led to a temporary collaboration with the German architect Peter Behrens, also a painter and designer, who has influenced developments in modern architecture.

In 1911, Jeanneret began a long series of journeys through the East, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, in the company of one of his close friends Auguste Klipstein, an art historian. A true journey, this trip is a unique opportunity to discover, beyond the fascinating landscapes, the architecture: traditional houses, monasteries of the places he visits.

In the 1920s, Jeanneret adopted the pseudonym Le Corbusier as a reference to one of the ancestors of the maternal line. Having taken his first steps into the world of teaching in 1910, Le Corbusier held his first lecture at the Sorbonne in 1922.

Between 1920 and 1930, Le Corbusier carried out a large number of projects: villas, workshops, housing estates, including the famous Frugès housing estate in Pessac, commissioned in 1924 and executed from 1926 onwards.

A fruitful career

His projects are consistent with the notion of rigorous implementation, perhaps echoing the education received as a child. His proposals for urban planning and re-urbanisation did not always meet with the expected enthusiasm, but he nevertheless enjoyed a real reputation through his participation in the major post-war reconstruction projects.

With his official missions in the context of his seat on the Economic Council, which gave him visibility beyond borders, Le Corbusier became an emblematic figure of his time. He was promoted Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1947, despite suspicions of antisemitism and collaboration. Victim of a cardiac incident, Le Corbusier died in 1965 in the south of France.

While the artist’s work has been exhibited at various events, the major 2015 retrospective at the Centre Pompidou Le Corbusier, Mesures de l’homme, remains an architectural exhibition – a success.

Appraise and sell a painting by Le Corbusier

If you own a Le Corbusier painting or any other sculpture, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your painting. In the event of a sale, our specialists will also advise you on the various options available to sell your work at the best price.