.jpg?w=1)
In 1951, a year after India officially became a sovereign nation, the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru commissioned Le Corbusier to design the master plan for Chandigarh, the new capital of Punjab at the foot of the Himalayas. As the previous capital, Lahore, was ceded to Pakistan, Chandigarh was built as a symbol of a free and modern India and latter hailed by Nehru as the "temple of new India."
Le Corbusier charged his cousin Pierre Jeanneret with supervising the numerous construction sites which included the Governor's palace (never built), the Assembly Building, the High Court and the Secretariat, among many others. Jeanneret's involvement at Chandigarh, however, went far beyond the role of assistant. Appointed as the Chief Architect of the State of Punjab and director of the Chandigarh School of Architecture; he personally designed and built a variety of buildings including houses, schools, libraries and university campuses including Punjab University.
In order to furnish the numerous private and public buildings of Chandigarh, Jeanneret developed, with the help of his young Indian assistants, a complete range of minimalist, elegant and seemingly simple interior pieces entitled 'Low Cost Furniture.' The furniture was made from local materials: primarily teak, either left in natural color or dyed, and occasionally sisso, an Indian rosewood. For the chairs, the seats and backs were made with traditional cane work or upholstered in cotton. Leather was occasionally used, sometimes in vibrant shades of red, blue, green or bright yellow, such as the seats for the Assembly -- as the majority of the inhabitants of Punjab are Sikhs, it is not a religious taboo to use cowhide (provided that the cow died of natural causes). Jeanneret's designs effectively conjoin the inspiration of local craftsmanship with his previous approach developed in France while working with Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé.
In 1965, after fifteen years in India, Jeanneret left for health reasons and died in Geneva two years later. In 1970, according to his wishes, his ashes were brought back to Chandigarh and scattered over Shukna Lake. Chandigarh would not be what it is today without Pierre Jeanneret who succeeded in transforming a utopian vision into an architectural and design reality.
PIERRE JEANNERET (1896-1967)
A PAINTED TEAK DINING TABLE, 1950S
Details
PIERRE JEANNERET (1896-1967)
A Painted Teak Dining Table, 1950s
28 3/8 in. (72 cm.) high, 36¼ in. (92 cm.) square
A Painted Teak Dining Table, 1950s
28 3/8 in. (72 cm.) high, 36¼ in. (92 cm.) square
Provenance
Cafeterias, Punjab University, Chandigarh.