Who was Charles L’Eplattenier and how did he guide Le Corbusier?

Charles L’Eplattenier was a teacher at the École des Arts Décoratifs in La Chaux-de-Fonds, whom Le Corbusier later identified as his only teacher.12

L’Eplattenier played a pivotal role in shaping Le Corbusier’s early development by:

• Instruction: He taught the young student art history, drawing, and the naturalist aesthetics of Art Nouveau.2
• Career Direction: Recognizing his potential, L’Eplattenier decided that Le Corbusier should become an architect and provided him with his first practical experience on local projects.12
• Encouraging Exploration: He advised Le Corbusier to undertake a series of formative travels through central Europe and the Mediterranean between 1907 and 1911. These journeys were decisive for the self-taught architect, as they allowed him to study classical proportion, geometric forms, and the relationship between architecture and landscape, all of which became foundational to his later work.2