Sometimes when I think of Pierre Jeanneret, I wonder whether it ever sucked to be him. By which I mean to be the cousin and creative collaborator of the ultra-famous Le Corbusier (aka Charles-Édouard Jeanneret), who I assume got the credit for all that remarkable architecture and furniture design produced by their joint studio. I mean, people who know about design, even a little bit, know who Jeanneret was (and also Charlotte Perriand, another creative collaborator of Le Corbusier’s whose name is hardly mentioned in the same sentence as his). At least I think they do. But whenever you see one of those sleek LC/4 Chaise Longues, does your mind think “Pierre Jeanneret” or “Charlotte Perriand,” both of whom, especially the latter, were deeply involved in the design of that iconic piece of furniture, or does your mind think “Le Corbusier”? I regret to inform you that even for me, I think Le Courbusier. Even adopting that pseudonym for himself (supposedly reflecting his belief in reinventing oneself) feels like a brilliant means for garnering all the credit: if he had worked under his own name of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, his cousin would have been seen on more equal footing since they shared a last name.
But maybe I do Pierre a disservice even here by ranting about his overly-illustrious cousin. And what do I know! Maybe not having a spotlight trained on him was his preference. I do know that I’m thankful for people like Pierre, not only because he was a meticulous, brilliant architect and designer who created some of my most beloved buildings in the world, but also because he stands as a testament to the fact that great ideas in design, and art, usually do not originate in a single mind. To create is to collaborate.
-Eugenie Dalland