Le Corbusier and the Power of Photography

Le Corbusier had perhaps a more profound effect on visual culture than any other architect of his generation and his influence and development was inextricably connected to the rise of the twentieth century’s central form of popular media: photography.

Long before many in his field, he harnessed the power of the photographic image to define and disseminate his persona, his ideas and his buildings around the world.

Coinciding with the 125th anniversary of Le Corbusier’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the foundation of his first studio in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, this book – the first devoted solely to the relationship between Le Corbusier and photography – brings together contributions by leading scholars and experts on the man to explore his use of and engagement with photography, offering many fresh perspectives on his genius.

From the early pictures he took as a young travelling architect and snapshots of his surroundings, to his approach to the design of his influential publications, and large-scale photographic images and collages for architectural spaces, this collection of insights into Le Corbusier’s photographic eye reveals the scope of his innovation, as well as offering candid and often unexpected images of the man himself.