Poem of the Right Angle

The Poem of the Right Angle (Le Poeme 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. 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.

The Poem of the Right Angle was composed over a period of seven years, from 1947-1953. 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.

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

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.

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 overty 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.

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