Works
  • Lucien Hervé, Chandigarh, Architect: Pierre Jeanneret, c.1955
    Chandigarh, Architect: Pierre Jeanneret, c.1955
  • Lucien Hervé, Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1961
    Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Appartement de Le Corbusier, Immeuble Porte Molitor, 1950
    Appartement de Le Corbusier, Immeuble Porte Molitor, 1950
  • Lucien Hervé, Untitled
    Untitled
  • Lucien Hervé, Untitled, 1990
    Untitled, 1990
  • Lucien Hervé, Unité d'Habitation, Marseille, 1949
    Unité d'Habitation, Marseille, 1949
  • Lucien Hervé, Congrès National, Brasilia, Architecte: Oscar Niemeyer, 1961
    Congrès National, Brasilia, Architecte: Oscar Niemeyer, 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Brasilia, Cathedral (Oscar Niemeyer), 1961
    Brasilia, Cathedral (Oscar Niemeyer), 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Église de la Médaille de la Vierge Miraculeuse, Mexico City, Architecte : Félix Candela, 1961
    Église de la Médaille de la Vierge Miraculeuse, Mexico City, Architecte : Félix Candela, 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Architect: Kanvinde, c.1955
    Architect: Kanvinde, c.1955
  • Lucien Hervé, Cabanon à Cap Martin - Roquebrune, 1957
    Cabanon à Cap Martin - Roquebrune, 1957
  • Lucien Hervé, Chalet de Méribel, Charlotte Perriand, 1961
    Chalet de Méribel, Charlotte Perriand, 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Chalet de Méribel, Charlotte Perriand, 1961
    Chalet de Méribel, Charlotte Perriand, 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Chalet de Méribel, Charlotte Perriand (her home), 1961
    Chalet de Méribel, Charlotte Perriand (her home), 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Eiffel Tower, 1945
    Eiffel Tower, 1945
  • Lucien Hervé, Eiffel Tower, 1949
    Eiffel Tower, 1949
  • Lucien Hervé, Entrée de Av. Suffren, Unesco, Paris, Architectes : Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi Nervi, Bernard Zehrfuss
    Entrée de Av. Suffren, Unesco, Paris, Architectes : Marcel Breuer, Pier Luigi Nervi, Bernard Zehrfuss
  • Lucien Hervé, Hôtel Martel, Rue Mallet Stevens, Paris, Architecte: Mallet-Stevens, 1976
    Hôtel Martel, Rue Mallet Stevens, Paris, Architecte: Mallet-Stevens, 1976
  • Lucien Hervé, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, Architecte: Jean Nouvel, 1988
    Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, Architecte: Jean Nouvel, 1988
  • Lucien Hervé, Le Corbusier arrives in Delhi, India, 1952
    Le Corbusier arrives in Delhi, India, 1952
  • Lucien Hervé, Maison de Verre, Rue St Guillaume, Pierre Chareau
    Maison de Verre, Rue St Guillaume, Pierre Chareau
  • Lucien Hervé, Petite fille, Inde, 1955
    Petite fille, Inde, 1955
  • Lucien Hervé, Ronchamp Maquette
    Ronchamp Maquette
  • Lucien Hervé, Ronchamp 7, c. 1953/54
    Ronchamp 7, c. 1953/54
  • Lucien Hervé, Ronchamp, c. 1954
    Ronchamp, c. 1954
  • Lucien Hervé, Unesco, Paris, Salle de Conférence, Architect: Pier Luigi Nervi
    Unesco, Paris, Salle de Conférence, Architect: Pier Luigi Nervi
  • Lucien Hervé, Unité d'Habitation, Marseille, 1952
    Unité d'Habitation, Marseille, 1952
  • Lucien Hervé, Unité d'Habitation, Nantes-Rezé, 1954
    Unité d'Habitation, Nantes-Rezé, 1954
  • Lucien Hervé, US Embassy, Karachi, Architect: Neutra, 1961
    US Embassy, Karachi, Architect: Neutra, 1961
  • Lucien Hervé, Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1961
    Villa Savoye, Poissy, 1961
Biography
View works. Lucien Hervé, Congrès National, Brasilia, Architecte: Oscar Niemeyer, 1961
Congrès National, Brasilia, Architecte: Oscar Niemeyer, 1961
View works
Lucien Hervé is considered to be one of the great architectural photographers of the 20th century.  He collaborated with Le Corbusier from 1949 until the architect’s death in 1965, developping a great rapport. Le Corbusier even once pronounced Hervé to have 'the soul of an architect.' In 1949, Hervé travelled from Paris to Marseille to see Le Corbusier’s recently designed housing complex, Unité d'Habitation. Awed by the groundbreaking modern design, Hervé took 650 photographs of it in a single day and it was from then onwards they worked closely with one another.
 
Through light and shadow, he defined the dialogue between substance and form. By delineating a strong contrast between the light and shadows in his subject as well as placing emphasis on building details, Hervé was able to communicate the depth of a room, the surface of a wall, or the strength of a building's framework.
 
Born 1910 in Hungary, Hervé (born László Elkán) moved to Paris at the age of 19 and earned French citizenship in 1938. During World War II, he was captured by the Germans, escaped and became a member of the French Resistance under the name of Lucien Hervé, which he kept thereafter. After the war he left politics behind to write for art journals. It was one of his editors, in fact, who suggested he visit Unité d’Habitation. Hervé began experimenting with photography, over or underexposing images and often severely cropping them to attain unusual compositions following the work of avant-garde artists such as Piet Mondrian, László Moholy-Nagy, and Alexander Rodchenko.
 
 
HERVÉ APPROACHED HIS SUBJECTS SEEKING NOT ONLY TO DOCUMENT THE BUILDINGS HE WAS COMMISSIONED TO PHOTOGRAPH BUT ALSO, ESPECIALLY, TO CONVEY A SENSE OF SPACE, TEXTURE, AND STRUCTURE.
 
- Olivier Beer
 
 
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