Pierre Jeanneret's Bench, Hand-Sculpted Contemporary Re-Edition

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Pierre Jeanneret's Bench, Hand-Sculpted Contemporary Re-Edition

About the Item

Pierre Jeanneret's bench, hand-sculpted contemporary re-edition The bench is a 3-seat with cane lattice seating and characteristic V-leg assemblies on either end. Each V-leg assembly is comprised of a long and short leg piece. A supporting crossbar runs along the length of the bench between the longer leg pieces. The bench is finished with sealer and transparent wood polish. Materials used Teak (Tectona Grandis) and natural cane. Dimensions: H 39.6 cm x L 137.4 cm x W 45.7 cm (H 15.0 in x L 54.0 in x W 18.0 in) Pierre Jeanneret was the silent and unassuming hero of the Chandigarh story. He was born in Geneva on 22 March, 1896. He graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Geneva and continued his architecture studies in the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. While in Paris, he reconnected with his older cousin and fellow architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, who by then had taken on the pseudonym Le Corbusier and was making a name for himself as an architect, painter, and intellectual. Le Corbusier took the young Jeanneret under his wing and introduced him to his circle of friends. By the early 1920s, they had entered into a formal partnership and thus began a collaboration that lasted until 1940. During this period they executed several important projects and developed a strong ideology of modernism. The relationship between Pierre Jeanneret and Le Corbusier was symbiotic. Corbusier valued Jeanneret's frankness; he was perhaps the only one in their team who could give him candid feedback and Challenge his ideas. Jeanneret had a tremendous work ethic, practical knowledge of materials, sound architectural skills, an ability to get things done, and a modesty that complemented Corbusier's volatile temperament. Above all, Corbusier had immense trust in Jeanneret and knew that he could always count on his support. For Jeanneret, Corbusier was a genius and a hero who shared his hatred of bourgeois conservatism. He was shy and introverted by nature and this partnership allowed him to remain in the background. Jeanneret's role was critical in Corbusier's success and rising fame during this period. An important development during this period was the beginning of Jeanneret's interest in furniture. He collaborated with Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand, a young designer who had joined their firm in 1927, and together they designed a series of furniture made from recycled steel tubing. They subsequently designed furniture using hardwoods, creating their own distinctive style of joineries and leg styles. Jeanneret continued evolving these ideas, which culminated in the large number of distinctive furniture designs he created for Chandigarh. With the advent of the Second World War and the occupation of France, things changed in the world of Corbusier and Jeanneret. They had to leave Paris and each chose to take up different assignments – Corbusier with the pro-German Vichy government, and Jeanneret with a firm called BCC in Grenoble. It has often been speculated that political and ideological differences caused the split; however, they clarified later that the decision was more for practical reasons. Jeanneret took up several assignments during the 1940s, including a stint in the US as designer for the furniture-manufacturing firm Knoll. When Le Corbusier took on the role of Chief Advisor to the Chandigarh project, he convinced Pierre Jeanneret to take up a full-time position with him. Jeanneret first came to India in February 1951 and stayed on until August 1965. Jeanneret embraced India, its culture, and its people, with honesty and sincerity. He understood the local context, climate, materials, and designed buildings accordingly. Apart from his own designs, he was responsible for executing Corbusier's projects – no mean task considering Corbusier's sporadic unreasonableness and the reality of India. Corbusier only visited Chandigarh twice a year for brief periods, and the responsibility for the ambitious Capitol Project, which comprised several monuments including the Legislative Assembly, Secretariat, and High Court, fell on Jeanneret. He was appointed as the Chief Architect of Chandigarh in 1955, the Urban Planning Advisor to the Government of Punjab, and made the Head of the Chandigarh College of Architecture. He designed several civic buildings, private residences, schools, hostels, and university buildings. The Gandhi Bhawan, an auditorium within the Punjab University campus, is considered one of Jeanneret's finest buildings in Chandigarh. Jeanneret lived a simple and austere life in Chandigarh. He designed furniture for his home from simple local materials like bamboo, canvas, and rope. He became great friends with his Cook and caretaker. In his spare time he built boats and sailed them on Sukhna Lake, near his house. By 1965 his health was failing and, unable to continue in Chandigarh, he went to Geneva where he was looked after by his niece. Pierre Jeanneret died on 4 December, 1967 in Geneva, and as per his wishes, his ashes were scattered on the waters of Sukhna Lake in his beloved Chandigarh. Jeanneret's true place in the architectural and design pantheon of the 20th century was recognized after his death. This humble and modest genius chose to live his life in the shadow of the great Le Corbusier, and would not have wished for it to be any different.

Creator:
Pierre Jeanneret (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 15.6 in (39.6 cm)Width: 54.1 in (137.4 cm)Depth: 7.88 in (20 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Wood
Place of Origin:
Asia
Period:
2010-
Date of Manufacture:
2019
Production Type:
New & Custom(Current Production)
Estimated Production Time:
4-5 weeks
Condition:
Seller Location:
Geneve, CH
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1219216349772

Shop All Pierre Jeanneret

Pierre Jeanneret

If his famed cousin and longtime colleague Charles-Édouard Jeanneret — better known as Le Corbusier — was the visionary, then Pierre Jeanneret was the member of the architecture and design team who got things done. In recent years, Jeanneret has emerged from Le Corbusier’s shadow, as collectors have discovered his simple and striking furniture creations.

Jeanneret studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Geneva and after he graduated in 1921 he became a partner in Le Corbusier’s office in Paris. The pair collaborated on numerous residential projects, most notably the Villa Savoye, the iconic modernist house in suburban Paris completed in 1931. Jeanneret also worked with the great Charlotte Perriand on the Grand Modele line of tubular metal furnishings that was a sensation at the annual Salon d’Automne design expo in 1929. A rift developed between Jeanneret and his cousin during World War II, as the former joined the French resistance, while Le Corbusier cooperated with the occupying authorities in Vichy. The two did not work together again until 1950, when Le Corbusier persuaded Jeanneret to help execute the master plan for the new city of Chandigarh in Punjab, India. Jeanneret lived and worked there until the final years of his life.

A hallmark of Jeanneret’s furniture designs is his great sensitivity to materials. In contrast to the tubular-steel chairs produced by Marcel Breuer and other members of the Bauhaus, the chromed metal pieces designed by Jeanneret and Perriand — including such as the now-classic LC4 chaise longue and the Grand Confort lounge chair — have a sensuous, relaxed and welcoming look. Conversely, while Jeanneret uses essentially geometric forms for his wooden seating pieces, they exude warmth by nature of the material.

One of Jeanneret’s first manufactured designs in wood is the Model 92 Scissors chair, licensed by Hans and Florence Knoll when they were touring postwar France. But Jeanneret’s finest work in furniture was done in Chandigarh, and these are the pieces that have earned him recent renown. Crafted of teak, the designs range from low-slung lounge chairs and armchairs with cane seats to desks and tables, most with Jeanneret’s signature drafting compass-shaped legs. Many such pieces on the market today are refurbished, having been found by dealers languishing in scrapyards in India in the late 1990s. Chandigarh is now taking better care of its modernist heritage, making available Jeanneret works all the rarer.

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