Banknotes of Switzerland 10 Swiss Francs note
Swiss National Bank
Schweizerische Nationalbank - Banque Nationale Suisse - Banca Nazionale Svizzera - Banca Naziunala Svizra
The portrait on the front side of the 10 franc banknote shows Charles Edourd Jaenneret, better known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965), one of the outstanding masters of modern design. Le Corbusier was an architect, town planner, urbanist, painter and theoretician whose creative energies focused on the human being. This orientation is expressed, above all, in his pioneering concepts of residential design and urban planning. Le Corbusier used skeleton construction and prefabrication techniques in an innovative industrial approach to building - for example in the government complex in Chandigarh, India. Moreover, he influenced modern design and gained international recognition as a designer of furniture and as an architect of sacred buildings, for example the famous pilgrim church of Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp.
Reverse side of the 10 Swiss francs is showing:
the Palace of Justice at Chandigarh — the foyer of the Palace of Justice is based on three design principles: three-dimensional design, a predilection for ramps to connect the floors, and the dynamic relationship between the interior and the exterior.
the facade of the Secretariat — the central element shows the facade of the Secretariat. Here, Le Corbusier’s architectonic thinking is visible: the use of his „Modulor” scale of measures, the revealing of spatial cells across the entire facade, and the use of the brise-soleil to make a three-dimensional statement.
the „Modulor” — the „Modulor”, which is based on the golden section and the proportions of the human body, is Le Corbusier’s own universal measuring system. It puts man, as the measure of all things, in the centre of architectural design.
the Secretariat building at Chandigarh — the Secretariat is the largest building designed by Le Corbusier - employs the key elements of the new architecture: the use of unfinished concrete as the universal building material to achieve specific design effects, a freely structured facade, brise-soleil and the roof terrace.
Banknote of 10 Swiss francs has dimensions 126 × 74 mm and main colors are indian yellow, cordovan, pastel blue, ruddy brown, fawn, earth yellow and pale gold. Date of issue of 10 Swiss francs banknote was 8 April 1997.
Watermark: Portrait of Le Corbusier.
Printer: Orell Füssli Arts Graphiques S.A.
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Le Corbusier (Charles Edouard Jeanneret),1887-1965 Architect, town planner and theoretician, painter, sculptor and writer.
Le Corbusier is regarded as one of the outstanding creative personalities of the twentieth century. He was a universal designer who was active in many fields: as an architect, town planner, painter, sculptor and the author of numerous books on architecture, urban planning and design. Le Corbusier's remarkable ability to communicate his ideas helped to gain recognition for his theories throughout the world. His work is a modern Gesamtkunstwerk that combines individual disciplines into a complex whole. This is particularly apparent in his visionary urban planning projects. Le Corbusier pioneered a quintessentially modern approach to architecture.
Urban planning
Le Corbusier's concepts of residential building design are based on extensive studies of the social, architectural and urban planning problems of the industrial era. Le Corbusier always placed the human being at the centre of his creative principles. In his book Urbanisme (The City of Tomorrow), published in 1924, and in numerous other studies on this topic, he formulated some of the most important principles of modern urban planning: the city, he wrote, must be planned as an organic whole and designed in spatial terms to support the functions of living, work, recreation, education and transport. One important goal was to separate work and relaxation into spaces that would be experienced separately.
Chandigarh (1950 - 1962)
Although Le Corbusier was involved in numerous urban planning projects, only two were implemented: PessacBordeaux (1925) and Chandigarh. In this latter project, Le Corbusier received a contract from the government of India in 1950 to build the new capital of the Indian state of Punjab, which was established after the Second World War. Here in Chandigarh, Le Corbusier applied on a grand scale all the disciplines practised by him. As a planning consultant, he directed the team of architects who were responsible for the project. He himself designed the three major buildings that dominate the government district: the Palace of Justice (1955), the Secretariat (1958), which houses the various ministries, and the Parliament Building (1962).
Architectural principles
Le Corbusier's architecture is rich in pioneering discoveries and creative impulses. Le Corbusier formulated a series of innovative principles that laid the groundwork for contemporary architecture. These principles included freely structured plan and facade design, vertical connections in an open floor plan, roof terraces, and the pillars that he frequently used to support his buildings. All these principles were first made possible by the skeleton construction methods that Le Corbusier consistently applied. Le Corbusier's principles also included the control of light from above as well as the use - for both functional and decorative purposes - of brise-soleil to shelter windows.
The «Modulor» (1942 - 1955)
Another important principle which Le Corbusier contributed to architecture is the "Modulor", a universal scale of measures which he developed between 1942 and 1955. The "Modulor" represents an attempt to combine the English measuring system, which is based on the foot, with the metric decimal system and, at the same time, to establish relationships with human anatomical stature. The "Modulor" is based on the golden section and the proportions of the human body. Le Corbusier also related his "Modulor" to the concept of the space-time continuum used in modern physics.
Architecture
Some of Le Corbusier's best-known public buildings are the Pavillon Suisse in the Cité Universitaire in Paris (1932), the Ministry of Health and Education in Rio de Janeiro (1936-1945) and the Philips-Pavillon at the Brussels World Fair (1958). Le Corbusier's large-scale residential building projects include the Unité d’habitation (1945-1952) in Marseille, which provides living space for 1600 people, and the apartment building Clarté in Geneva (1930-1932). Of the large number of private homes designed by Le Corbusier, the Villa La Roche-Jeanneret in Paris (1923-1924) and the Villa Savoye in Poissy (1929) are representative. Le Corbusier's most famous building is probably the pilgrim church Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp (1950-1954). A few years later, Le Corbusier completed another religious building: the Dominican cloister La Tourette near Lyon (1956-1960). Painting Le Corbusier anticipated the formal elements of architecture in his paintings. Painting was his laboratory. In 1918 Le Corbusier and Amédée Ozenfant founded the Purist movement in opposition to Cubism. In 1928 the period of objets à réaction poétiquebegan for Le Corbusier. In his later years, Le Corbusier turned to complex symbolic representations linked to the surrealistic style of the late 1930s. At the Palace of Justice in Chandigarh he employed large tapestries, which he had himself designed, as sound-muffling elements.
Chronology
1887 - Charles Edouard Jeanneret was born on October 6 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. His father was an engraver of watch and clock faces, his mother a musician.
1900-1907 - Student of Charles L'Eplattenier at the Ecole d'Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
1905 - First architectural assignment: Villa Fallet in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
1907-1911 - Travelled to northern and central Italy, Budapest, Vienna, Lyon and Paris, Germany, the Balkans, Greece and Constantinople.
1908-1909 - Worked as an architect in the studio of Auguste Perret in Paris, further studies at the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts.
1910 - Worked with Peter Behrens in Berlin.
1912 - Instructor at the newly founded architecture department of the Ecole d'Art in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
1919 - Founder and co-publisher of the periodical L’Esprit Nouveau. Began to sign his architectural works
with the name "Le Corbusier."
1925 - "Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau" at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. "Plan
Voisin" for Paris.
1930 - Married Yvonne Gallis.
1934 - Honorary doctoral degree from the University of Zurich.
1941 - Began studies for "Modulor".
1950-1955 - Construction of the Pilgrim Church at Ronchamp.
1950-1962 - Planning of Chandigarh. Construction of the Secretariat.
1955 - Honorary doctoral degree from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
1965 - Le Corbusier died on August 27 at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
10 franc banknote:
The current eighth series of banknotes was introduced by the Swiss National Bank in 1995 with the issuance of the series' 50 franc note. Although printing of the 10 franc note began at Orell Füssli that year and into 1996, it was not issued until April 8, 1997. The designs selected for the note were drawn by Swiss artist Jörg Zintzmeyer (1947–2009). Since 1995, the banknote has been produced every few years, the latest time being in 2012. An official date of recall has yet to be given, but is expected to occur shortly after the introduction of the upcoming ninth series. Also, the date when the note is to be demonetized has not yet been determined either. In the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, different pick numbers are designated for the notes produced in the 1990s and the 21st century notes, even though they differ only in the date. The current 10 franc note is the first of its denomination to have vertical orientation on both the obverse and reverse. It has a width of 74 millimeters and a height of 126 millimeters. The note is mostly printed in yellow ink over white paper, but other colors, such as blue and orange, are prominent as well.
Unlike the earlier sixth and seventh series 10 franc banknotes, there is not a large colored portion at one side of the obverse and reverse; virtually the entire note is colored. Featured at the bottom center of the obverse is a large illustration of Le Corbusier (born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris; 1887–1965), a Swiss-born French artist known for pioneering modern architecture and designing various works of art and furniture. In the depiction, he is shown facing with his fingers resting on his glasses, which are pulled above his eyes. Superimposing the bottom of the likeness is a blue circle with a dot in the center. This touch-perceptible element is included to facilitate recognition for the visually impaired. At the upper left corner of the note, printed in gray ink, is an image of Le Corbusier sketching out a design. Eight tabs labeled "A" to "H" are located along the left side of the note, and next to each the value "10" is printed in differing types of special ink. The French bank title "BANQUE NATIONALE SUISSE" is printed upward in brown ink to the right of the larger image of Le Corbusier, and written in the same manner next to that, but in blue ink, is the Italian "BANCA NAZIONALE SVIZZERA". A space empty of any designs or text is located directly above these bank titles, but above that space the values "Dix Francs" and "Dieci Franchi" are printed in the locations and colors of their respective bank titles. The counterfeiting notice "Les billets de banque sont protégés par le droit penal." is printed on two lines in small text above the former value, while "Le banconote sono protette dal diritto penale." is written in a similar fashion near the latter value. The French inscription is separated between the words "sont" and "protégés", while the Italian is between "sono" and "prottete". Both, located in the white area of the obverse, essentially translate to English as "Banknotes are protected by criminal law". Included in red at the upper right corner of the obverse, by the Italian counterfeiting notice, is the numeral "10". Directly above the large image of Le Corbusier is a triangle with its point facing downward; the left half is mainly blue while the right is a dark yellow. A Kinegram element is shown to the right of the triangle, while two more Kinegrams are included near the base of the triangle, and another is found to the left of the French counterfeiting notice. The caption "Le Corbusier 1887–1955" is printed vertically in brown ink above the centermost Kinegrams, in the white area, and above that, at the top of the note, is a Swiss cross with a brown outline. Several entwined lines are also present at the upper right of the obverse, in the white area.
Featured at the upper right corner of the reverse, mostly in a dark blue ink, is the lobby of the Palace of Justice in Chandigarh, India, which was designed by Le Corbusier. Superimposing the upper left of the illustration is the signature of the President of the Bank Council, and the signature of a member of the Board of Directors is included below it. Printed in dark blue on two lines above the first signature is the German title "Der Präsident des Bankrates", and captioning the second signature is "Ein Mitglied des Direktoriums", also on two lines. The lines of the former are separated between "Präsident" and "des", whereas those of the latter are separated between "Mitglied" and "des". On notes printed from 1995 to 1996 the signature of Jakob Schönenberger (1931–) is included under the "President" field; Eduard Belser's (1943–) signature is present under this caption on the 2000 notes, while the signature of Hansueli Raggenbass (1948–) is shown on pieces produced from 2006 to 2012. So far, the signatures of nine individuals have appeared under the "Ein Mitglied des Direktoriums" caption. A white area is shown to the left of the depiction of the lobby of the Palace of Justice. At the upper right corner of it is a Swiss cross, which is in the same location as the cross on the obverse. Printed vertically in an upward direction, in blue, at the left of this area is the serial number, preceded by the final two digits of the date and a letter. A large, red number "10" featured below the serial number. The facade of the Secretariat Building in Chandigarh, also designed by Le Corbusier, is illustrated below the "10" and the depiction of the Palace of Justice, along with what some sources describe as a ground plan for the Chandigarh government district. The numbers "296", "226", "183", "140", "113", "86", "70", "68", and "43" are also featured. Printed over portions of the image of the Secretariat is a representation of the Modulor, an anthropometric scale of proportions developed by Le Corbusier, which shows a dark human figure standing in front of a red and blue spiral. The Secretariat Building is again shown at the bottom of the reverse. Printed in red at the very bottom of the note, in a small white area, is the text "Jörg Zintzmeyer Z&L" followed by "Orell Füssli Arts Graphiques SA Zurich". The first text signifies the note was designed by Jörg Zintzmeyer while the latter represents the printing at Orell Füssli. Adjacent to this area is a small yellow area in which the French "Banque nationale suisse" is written in green. At the bottom center of the note, inside of a rectangular boundary, the serial number is printed in black in an upward direction, the last two digits of the date and a letter before it. A small dark yellow box is included to the left of the serial number. The German "SCHWEIZERISCHE NATIONALBANK" is featured in blue at the right side of the reverse, running in an upward direction. It is followed above by the value "Zehn Franken" and the two-line counterfeiting notice "Banknoten sind strafrechtlich geschützt." separated between "sind" and "strafrechtlich". To the right of the German in red is the Romansh "BANCA NAZIUNALA SVIZRA"; "Diesch Francs"; and "Las bancnotas èn protegidas dal dretg penal.", which is separated on two lines between "èn" and "protegidas". The value "10" is written in red above the Romansh counterfeiting notice.
In order to prevent counterfeiting, a number of security features were added to the eighth series 10 franc banknote. There is microprinting describing Le Corbusier and his accomplishments in the yellow portion of the triangle on the obverse and in the yellow square at the bottom of the reverse. On the obverse it is written in French and Italian on the obverse while on the reverse it is in German[3] and Romansh. The value written along the obverse eight times is printed each time in a different type of security ink. The first writing of the value is transparent and becomes visible when viewed at the proper angle with the light, the second is a watermark that can only be viewed when the note is held under light, the third is printed in intaglio ink that leaves traces of ink when rubbed, the fourth uses perforated lettering that can be seen clearly when held up to the light, the fifth changes colors depending on the angle it is viewed from, the sixth becomes visible under ultraviolet light, the seventh is metal-coated and under a microscope "BNS" or "SNB" can be seen, and the eighth can only be viewed from an unusual angle. The crosses on the obverse and reverse are in exactly the same spot, so when the note is held up to the light one cross can be seen with the other. Also becoming visible when lifted to the light is a watermark of Le Corbusier in the white areas of the obverse and reverse. The Kinegram and touch-perceptible features are also included on the obverse and may be difficult for counterfeiters to replicate. On the reverse, the serial number is printed twice in different colors, and a metallic security thread that shines in the light extends across the middle.
In 2005, the Swiss National Bank held a competition to determine the designs of the next series of Swiss franc banknotes. This competition was won by Manuel Krebs, but his designs, showing depictions of cells and embryos, were met with large opposition from the public. As a result, Krebs' drawings were rejected and those of the second place winner, Manuela Pfrunder (1979–), were selected instead. The theme of Pfrunder's 10 franc banknote is skiing, and the note will likely be yellow in color. The Swiss National Bank revealed that the ninth series notes will be made of Durasafe material – consisting of a blend of paper and polymer – which would make the ninth series 10 franc note the first of its denomination to be composed of a material other than paper. Initially, plans were made to issued the notes in 2012, but the date of issuance was delayed until 2015 due to problems with production.