Focus | Ossip Zadkine

Sculpture

In 1924, Ossip Zadkine still swore by “taille directe” (direct carving). As the leading representative of this technique, it gave him a direct relationship with the material, whether wood or stone, and became an integral part of his artistic identity and his approach to sculpture. The forest surrounding his childhood home gave him a particular sensitivity to nature and materials that he kept during his life.

In the 1920s, the human figure became Ossip Zadkine’s almost exclusive subject. One of the masterpieces in this selection for FAB Paris, Tête d’homme (Head of a Man), was created using direct carving in alabaster, a soft stone that the sculptor allowed to express itself through rounded shapes and curves that seem to follow the form of the raw material. In contrast, the hair, made of irregular streaks carved into the stone, further emphasizes this effect. The face exudes a particular strength that the sculptor managed to impart to each of his pieces and that critics of his time perceived from his early works.

In 1921, Zadkine embraced Cubism, which he had long rejected in favor of his own sensibility, and briefly adopted its codes. His involvement remained superficial, however, and the artist distanced himself from the movement in 1924. The artist’s return to his roots is evident in the more natural forms we know today, but also in the unique lyricism that permeates his creations and is expressed through his characteristic use of materials, from which the artist draws all his expressive power.

Zadkine also explored stone, cement, and bronze, each material offering him a different freedom, its own rhythm, and a specific vision. Stone in particular allowed him to develop new compositions, playing on voids, intertwining forms, and formal tensions.

Some of his sculptures, designed for outdoor spaces, extend this intimate relationship with natural elements. They are anchored in the landscape, interacting with light and vegetation. The material is never reduced to a technical function, it becomes a language, a partner, and sometimes even the subject of the work.

Zadkine in Paris

Arriving in Paris in 1910, he also discovered the Parisian scene and became a key figure in the École de Paris. Although he forged relationships with his peers and admired certain artists in his circle (Gauguin, Rodin, De Chirico, Modigliani, etc.), Zadkine always retained a freedom that was unique to him and unlike any other sculptor of his time.

After difficult early years in Paris, the sculptor gradually achieved artistic maturity, which truly took root in the 1920s. He asserted his style and a powerful aesthetic guided by his independent spirit. The artist found his way and enjoyed growing critical success in France and Europe, particularly in England, Belgium and, later, the Netherlands. In 1927, Tête d’homme was added to the prestigious collection of Helena Rubinstein, a great art collector and patron, who acquired the work directly from Zadkine.

“Zadkine discovered that the drama of creation plays out between only three protagonists: his sensitivity, the material, and his hands. Above all notions and influences, there is the primordial status of sensitivity.”

Maurice Raynal

Works on paper

Throughout the 1920s, his gouaches became increasingly complex: village scenes, nudes, portraits, moments of celebration or music, always imbued with a sense of poetry and fantasy. He displayed a highly personal mastery of color and texture, modeling his figures with articulated forms and paying constant attention to the effects of transparency. From 1928 onwards, classical antiquity became a major source of inspiration, giving rise to mythological compositions and subjects.

In the 1930s and 1940s, as Europe grew darker, his works on paper became more expressive and dense, reflecting an inner world that was sometimes dreamlike and Humanist. Even when working with materials other than stone or wood, Zadkine knew how to convey the tension between material and spirituality.

Later, in the 1950s, his ink drawings, often populated by groups of figures, echoed his sculptures, translating the plastic intensity of three-dimensional volume into line.

100 years of Art Déco

To celebrate the centenary of the Art Deco movement, special attention will be paid to the role of the artist at the Zadkine Museum. The 1920s and 1930s marked a turning point in Zadkine’s career. It was during this period that he gained increasing recognition from critics and collectors alike, both in France and internationally. Initially influenced by the formal explorations of Cubism and Primitivism, he quickly moved away from these styles to develop a more expressive and personal language, guided by his free and lyrical artistic temperament.

In keeping with the spirit of Art Deco, Zadkine became interested in the links between sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts. He completed several commissions for public spaces and explored the effects of materials, abstraction, and ornamentation that reflected his sensitivity to Art Deco aesthetics. Always in search of new experiments, he also produced a rich and inventive body of graphic work, which was a great success with the literary public of the time. His work, at the crossroads of influences, embodies a singular sensibility within an artistic movement that is celebrating its centenary this year.