Le Corbusier Exhibition at Barbican (The Art of Architecture)

I visited this exhibition last week.
Le Corbusier (1887-1965) shown as a ‘multi-faceted renaissance man’ – thinker, writer & artist. His paintings, tapestries & sculptures particularly fascinating & organic – was this the same man who started the trend for brutal high-rise architecture surrounded by dead featureless open spaces? His vision was far more optimistic. He was friends with Leger and influenced by Picasso. He wanted post-war painting to be ’precise, pure & in harmony with science & industry’ (brochure accompanying exhibition). He shifted his interest to organic forms for interiors in 1930s & also had a strong interest in ‘primitive’ cultures. His approach to painting became more semi-abstract – ‘characterised by his enthusiasm for organic forms & quest for structural composition’ (brochure blurb).