Pierre JEANNERET (1896-1967). Office cane chair,... Lot 193

Pierre JEANNERET (1896-1967). Office cane chair, reference PJ-SI-28-D. Variant of the model for the Palais des Filateurs in Ahmedabad (1954). Solid teak with wicker seat and back, straight back joined to the seat by wide tapered lateral uprights, and resting on a double lateral "compass" base. Marked on the back "C.D.NO.2". Circa 1953-1954. Old patina and visible restorations. Provenance: Punjab University halls of residence and administrative buildings in Chandigarh (India). H: 85.5 cm; W: 50.5 cm; D: 53 cm. Pierre Jeanneret was born in Switzerland in 1893 and is the cousin of the famous architect Le Corbusier. He worked in Le Corbusier's studio, where he met Charlotte Perriand. These three artists were to feed off each other in their creations. They worked together on the Villa Savoye after the publication of their treatise "The Five Points of Modern Architecture". In the early 1950s, Pierre Jeanneret began a new project in Chandigarh, India, at the invitation of his cousin, who designed and developed an unprecedented architectural ensemble. Following India's independence, Prime Minister Nehru commissioned the construction of a new capital for Punjab, to illustrate the country's new modernity. The Prime Minister imagined it as a "new city, a symbol of India's freedom from tradition and the past": a societal and architectural utopia. Mattew Nowicki, the first architect in charge of the project, dies, and Le Corbusier is hired. The project was to become Le Corbusier's first large-scale project in which he was able to project all his ideas. The work, which lasted three to four years, was to create a capital city at the foot of the Himalayas. Chandigarh became a city unlike any other in the country. "A city unique in the world, built for people to live in joy and simplicity" Le Corbusier, February 1951 Right from the start of construction, Pierre Jeanneret was in the field on a daily basis. He was entrusted with the design of various buildings, including the administrative buildings. With Le Corbusier abandoning the project halfway through, Jeanneret became Chief Architect and urban development designer, remaining in India almost to the end of his life... The interiors of Chandigarh's various buildings are highly colorful, with many walls and doors decorated with Le Corbusier's paintings, inspired by Indian motifs. But once built, the buildings had to be furnished. Pierre Jeanneret, who was in Chandigarh from 1951 to 1965, lived in his self-designed house. He created furniture for his home using locally available materials, such as bamboo, canvas and rope. This would define the style of the complete new line of furniture he would create for the new city's administrative buildings. He went on to design over 30,000 pieces of furniture. He opted for functional, uncluttered forms, in reference to the Modern Movement. Nevertheless, as agreed with the local government, the furniture was manufactured by local factories. He uses indigenous materials that are accessible and adapted to the climate, such as teak, wicker, bamboo and leather. The office chair is an iconic piece of the project. It is made from teak, a wood common in India, in order to use local materials (resistant to heat, insects and humidity). Pierre Jeanneret drew his inspiration not only from traditional local craftsmanship, but also from the ideas developed before the Second World War by Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé. The contrast between the solidity of the structure with its famous V-shaped leg and the transparency of the cane seat are an application of his architectural thinking. This chair became the meeting point between Western ideals and the new Indian ideals following independence. "It's so simple, so minimal, so strong. Put one in a room and it becomes a sculpture." Joseph Dirand, architect and designer