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The Open Hand

"Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light."

(Le Corbusier - French Architect and city planner (born in Switzerland), 1887-1965)

 

This is the largest of the many Open Hand sculptures that Le Corbusier created, it is a 28 meter high version and it stands in Chandigarh, the capital of the Indian state of Punjab.

A few years after the Indenpendance, Nehru commissioned the French architect and urban planner to design the city in order to reflect the new nation's modern, progressive outlook.

The birth of this modern, youngest and vibrant city was an act of anguish and drama that took place at the time of partition of India and Pakistan.

Lahore, the historical capital of Punjab was ceded to Pakistan and Chandigarh was conceived to be a symbol of India's freedom.

The Open Hand (La Main Ouverte) is a recurring motif in Le Corbusier's architecture, a sign for him of "peace and reconciliation.

It is open to give and open to receive.

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Uploaded on April 22, 2012
Taken on May 11, 2009