Voisin C7 Type Demi-berline Two-door

There is not a single superfluous detail on this Voisin C7, which is still in its original condition. Car maker Gabriel Voisin was a proponent of functionalism, which rejects baroque ornamentation.

There is not a single superfluous detail on this Voisin C7, which is still in its original condition. Car maker Gabriel Voisin was a supporter of the functionalism that emerged in the 1920s and turned away from baroque ornamentation. The only exception is the radiator mascot. With this, Voisin makes a modest concession to commerce: in those days, a car without a mascot would not sell. "Every line that is not functional does not deserve to be called 'beautiful'," was the conviction of Gabriel Voisin from Issy-les-Moulineaux, a suburb of Paris. Voisin was originally an aircraft manufacturer, but in 1919 he began producing cars after demand for aircraft declined following the First World War. The functionalist movement in art and architecture that gained ground in the early 1920s held that buildings and everyday objects should be stripped of decoration. It had to be immediately clear what they were for. It was a reaction against the ornamental Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau, of around the turn of the century. Voisin was friends with the architect and artist Le Corbusier. They admired each other's work and exchanged many ideas. In 1925, Voisin provided financial support for an ambitious plan by Le Corbusier for a residential district in Paris, the "Plan Voisin." The plan was never carried out.