PROVENANCE

Private collection, India (gifted by the artist in 1955)

Private collection, France (acquired from the above)

LITERATURE

N. & J.-P. Jornod, Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret), Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Milan, 2005, vol. I, p. 637, no. 207 (with incorrect measurements, illustrated)

NOTES

Depicting a seashell, a boat and a tree trunk, Barque et coquillage is a wonderful example of Le Corbusier’s exploration of ‘objets à réaction poètique’ - the bringing together of eclectic forms to examine ideas of space and structure. The focus of the composition is the large seashell, a form which held a continuous fascination for the artist.