Poem of the Right Angle
# Poem of the Right Angle

The Poem of the Right Angle (Le poème de l'angle droit) is a series of 19 paintings and corresponding writings composed by the influential Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier between 1947 and 1953 and first published in book format as a limited edition of 250 copies in 1955. Aside from his seminal manifesto Toward an Architecture, The Poem of the Right Angle is considered to be his most lucid synthesis of personal maxims.

## Introduction

The Poem of the Right Angle was composed over a period of seven years, from 1947 to 1953. The paintings are arranged symmetrically in seven rows, or "zones" and read across, in order, 5, 3, 5, 1, 3, 1, 1 such that the entire composition appears top-heavy and cross-like. Corbusier referred to this organization as an iconostase, or iconostasis. Each zone, lettered A-G, is assigned a title and corresponding color. Le Corbusier was very interested in classic themes of alchemy, and each piece, as well as the significance of its placement in the color-coded sets, draws from and illuminates the dialectic of opposites inherent in alchemical processes.

## A. Milieu (Environment-Green)

Green is the alchemical symbol of the primal matter of the universe. Le Corbusier uses this zone as a taxonomy of natural cycles.

A.1. Representative of the cyclical nature of the sun

          ...the two rhythms
          which regulate our destiny:
          A sun rises
          A sun sets
          A sun rises again

A.2. Representative of the water cycle, an important part of alchemy and "a matrix for a dualistic universal confrontation."

A.3. Introduces earth symbol, cardinal symbols, and man as procreator. It also is the first passage that directly references the right angle, here as a symbol of life, living and "uprightness".

A.4. Uses figure-ground and heavy contrast to remark on the role of chaos in the divide between the conscious and unconscious

A.5. Very similar to the actual cover of the work, it is split down the middle and the clasped hands signal contradiction and reconciliation of opposites, which Corbusier stated were the only ways to ensure human survival. In a similar painting, the clasped hands symbolize the architect and the engineer working together.

## B. Esprit (Spirit-Blue)

This zone represents the links between nature, architecture and the cosmos.

B.2. "Le Modulor" - Corbusier's Modular Man, an iconic illustration of proportion, is juxtaposed with a shell, which Corbusier regarded as an archetypal female form. The shell form also embodies the same proportional values as the Modulor, based on the Golden section.

B.3. This is an overly architectural frame. Floorplates and a foundation are clearly depicted, and an owl, a classic symbol of wisdom, is clearly visible in the foundation.

B.4. Another architectural frame which illuminates the concept of the brise soleil through the sun above and the "secret world" below.

## C. Chair (Flesh-Violet)

Corbusier's tribute to the flesh consists of more complicated figures representing the animal world and all of its creative capacities.

C.1.

C.2.

C.3. This is the centerpiece of the iconostase, which Corbusier dedicated to his wife.

C.4. The center line is quite overt, which may indicate that the image can also be recognized when turned 90°, a practice Le Corbusier was fond of.

C.5. The image of a woman's body with a unicorn's head is a motif that is also seen in the mural of Le Corbusier's Swiss Pavilion at the Paris University Campus (C.I.U.P.), as are 3 other plates from the Poeme.

## D. Fusion (Red)

D.3.

## E. Caractère (Character-Clear)

The ascription of the "clear" color frames this zone, which represents light and will reborn in man.

E.2. The complex image of many women and a horse is achieved through phenomenal transparency and separation of color from line.

E.3. This is the most reproduced image from the series. The motif of the clasped hands seen in A.5. is repeated, along with a crescent face, indicative of the moon.

E.4. This image recalls some of Le Corbusier's paintings from the 1930s. It is orthogonal, architectural and labyrinthine.

## F. Offre (Offering-Yellow)

F.3. The symbol of the open hand appears as an "offering", and the interior lines and contours reveal traits and hidden characteristics.

## G. Outil (Tool-Purple)

G.3. The presentation of a "tool" is an analogy to the Philosopher's stone, both the solution and the question, thus establishing the cyclical nature of the work.

