OBJECTIF
Do you know the Corbusier chapel at Ronchamp? It’s an antidote. A place full of something sacred where punishment has no place.
John Berger - from a letter to his friend Iona Heath
In June 1950, on the hill, I spent hours getting to know the ground and the four horizons. Steeping myself in them.
Le Corbusier - from his 1965 book Texts and Sketches for Ronchamp
In 2009 John Berger visited Le Corbusier’s pilgrimage Chapel, Notre-Dame du Haut, at Ronchamp in eastern France. His companions on the trip were Sister Lucia Kuppens and Sister Telchilde Hinckley, two Benedictine nuns from Connecticut, and artist John Christie.
Their journey together was a kind of pilgrimage, both spiritual and architectural and transcripts of the conversations they had together at Ronchamp record the lasting impact this remarkable building and its architect Le Corbusier had on the four of them.
In addition a number of related texts form an Appendix - these include:
John Berger: A Visit - an unpublished narrative assembled from the group discussions and Le Corbusier’s own writings on the design and building of the Chapel.
Teju Cole: Elements of the pilgrimage - writer and photographer Teju Cole contributes a personal and wide-ranging letter reflecting on pilgrimage and place which includes the account of his own journey to Grünwald’s Isenheim Altarpiece at Colmar.
Paul Clarke: Eternal Return - architect and lecturer Paul Clarke provides an Afterword informed by his own studies and the many visits he has made to Notre-Dame du Haut over the years. 2025 marked the 70th anniversary of the inauguration of the Chapel and Prof. Clarke discusses, as well as the themes and ideas raised by John Berger and his three fellow pilgrims, the controversial changes made to the site since the group’s visit in 2009.
- ISBN:
- 978-1-9997123-2-7
- Publication:
- 30th June 2026
- Format:
- 144 pages 190mm x 190mm Hardcover, full colour throughout
If you have any questions please email john@objectifpress.co.uk
Price: £20.00
Postal charges will be added at the checkout
