Figure 14.10 Gismonda, 1894, by Alphonse Mucha, lithograph, 216 × 74 cm.
Figure 14.11 The Kiss, 1916, by Constantin Brancusi, stone, 58 x 34 x 25 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art. This is one of the few works that Brancusi made for a specific commission. It was requested by John Quinn, Brancusi’s patron in New York.
According to Brancusi, ‘What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things.’
His most famous work is The Kiss, and he created several versions around this theme (Fig. 14.11). The juxtaposition of smooth and rough surfaces combined with dramatically simplified human figures suggests the influence of African sculpture.
Modern Architecture Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier, was one of the most imaginative and influential architects and urban planners of modern times (Fig. 14.12).
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Together with contemporaries like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius, he developed the International Style of Architecture.
Le Corbusier outlined five key features necessary for modern architecture. According to him buildings should:
1. be raised off the ground on piloti (reinforced concrete pillars)
2. have one façade that was not part of the structure
3. be free of internal structural walls 4. have large windows
5. have a roof garden to replace the area of landscape taken from the ground.
