Le Corbusier’s Enamels from Jørn Utzon’s Private Collection

At the year’s final auction in Bredgade, we present the final pieces of art by Le Corbusier (1887-1965) from Jørn Utzon’s (1918-2008) private art collection. It is a well-known fact that Utzon held Le Corbusier in high regard and that the two were inspired by each other while they worked on the proposal for the interior decoration of the Sydney Opera House from 1958 to 1960.

We have previously sold art by Le Corbusier from Utzon’s collection, including four of the in total six enamels that were intended for the Sydney Opera House, as well as the monumental tapestry "Les dés sont jetés", which was bought for DKK 2.1 million by the Opera House in 2015.

A Well-Documented Collaboration

The collaboration between Le Corbusier and Utzon is well documented in a number of letters, and in one of them Utzon writes to Le Corbusier: "Your paintings are a great inspiration to me every day as they hang on our walls." On the back of the two enamels up for auction are sketches drawn by Le Corbusier, describing how they should be hung in the Opera House.

Utzon, Le Corbusier and the Sydney Opera House

Utzon graduated as an architect in 1942. His career, however, only truly gained momentum, when he in 1957 won the international architectural competition for the Sydney Opera House. The next several years he worked on the 20th century's most famous building, and everything went according to plan until a change in government in Australia in 1965.

The opera house's exterior had been completed, and Jørn Utzon was about to begin work on the interior. He had plans to decorate the opera with art by Le Corbusier and other artists. But the new governing party in Australia wanted the building finished quickly and cheaply. Therefore, they suspended the payments to Utzon, who withdrew from the construction in 1966. Australian architects completed the construction instead, and the Sydney Opera House was completed in 1973 without Utzon's stamp on the interior design and the planned decorations by Le Corbusier.

Utzon's Private Collection

In addition to the enamel paintings by Le Corbusier, there are several works from Utzon’s private art collection at the auction in early December. Utzon was very inspired by the greatest artists of the contemporary period and acquired works by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger and Asger Jorn. On all the works by Asger Jorn, there is a dedication from the artist to Jørn Utzon.

Auction: 5-6 December at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen

Preview: 23-27 November

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