The Law of White Lead

'[W]ith a dash of white paint on your walls, you will be masters of yourselves. And then you will wish to be precise; to be right, to think clearly. You will surround yourselves with order when your work has created confusion. After work you will tidy up, you will see what it has produced. . . . The Law of White Lead would bring with it the joy of living, the joy of acting.'

'Le Corbusier; quoted in The Furniture of Gerrit Thomas Rietveld by Daniele Baroni, 1977.