Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris – A veritable artist among architects It is Thursday, 6 October 1887 when Charles-Édouard Jean- neret-Gris is born in the Swiss Jura, the son of an artisan and a music teacher. Early on, he develops a fascination for art, aesthetics and especially architecture. And so, after an apprenticeship as an engraver at the age of 17, he finally begins training as an ar- chitect at a renowned arts and crafts school. Shortly after beginning this training, he and fellow students design and build their first house, a villa for his teacher. A first and significant foundation stone for a passion that will hence- forth shape his entire life and later make him one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. Years of travelling across the European continent and beyond follow, during which he regularly visits and learns from archi- tects who are important at the time. He visits numerous cities and metropolises and travels to the most diverse countries. Always in his luggage: countless travel impressions, which he records in articles, sketches and diary entries for himself and for others. In 1917, he finally moves to Paris, his future centre of life, where he discovers not only architecture but also painting. To- gether with other comrades-in-arms, he founds his own jour- nal for art, science and architecture there. At the same time, this is the birth of his stage name: „Le Corbusier. A pseud- onym created in imitation of his great-grandmother‘s name, under which he will be publicly active until the end of his life. For Le Corbusier, Paris is finally the starting signal for an unprecedented career. With concepts, visions and ideas that are always a bit ahead of his time, he repeatedly causes a sensation in the years and decades that follow - in architec- ture as well as in the fields of art and design. In all this, Le Corbusier always sees himself as both a builder and artist. For him, aesthetics must have a function. And serve a very specific purpose. He pays attention to materials, shapes and proportions and at the same time knows about the effect of colours and light. And always with an eye for the big picture and a feel for every tiny detail. To this day, he is regarded as a style icon and visionary whose work lives on in countless buildings and works of art - long after his tragic death in 1965. © LCS-ADAGP - PROLITTERIS - Le Corbusier