'Gras's invention might not have achieved its subsequent design status had it not been spotted and championed by Le Corbusier' It was an archetypal type-object of the sort Le Corbu proposed in L'Art Décoratif d'aujourd'hui, immensely functional and free of superfluous ornament. Throughout his career, Le Corbu included variants of the Gras lamp from floor lamps to extending downlights in many of his projects but also used them himself at work and at home.
'The double-elbow version (model 211) Gras lamp was also usefully applied in the amazing working cubicle, the "Studiolo", which Le Corbusier had built for his personal use. It is a blind office, with floor space of less than 10 square metres and a height of 2. 26 metres, governed by the Modulor, a complex system of measurements adopted by the architect for harmonising the proportions,' writes Teissonnière. 'The only seating allowed was the Thonet B9 armchairs, and the lighting consisted of a Gras lamp bearing the number 201. Two type-objects, alluding to the architect's earliest ideas that led him to surround himself with useful objects whose efficacy and general appearance were just the right thing for defining a neutral space, beyond time and fashion.'
l Le Corbusier and the Gras Lamp by Didier Teissonnière, Antoine Picon and Arthur Rüegg is published by in French and English by Editions Norma, hardback, £ 35, ISBN-10: 2915542708
Left: Le Corbusier working in the living room with 206 portable nickel-plated lamp and 201 semi-fixed black enamel lamp without reflector Right: Le Corbusier's study sketch for a lighting project experimenting with the graphic possibilities offered by the lamp