Zadkine Museum

Sensibilization visit

• Zadkine, one of the big names of 20th century sculpture

Ossip Zadkine (1888-1967) was born in Russia, on the 4th of July 1888, in Vitebsk (currently Bielorussia). He grew up in an environment influenced by the Daugava (river that flows through Latvia, Belorussia and Russia) and the forest, and build a specific bond with nature. At 12 years old, he discovered modeling and started doing it with (loam).

In 1905, Zadkine is sent to England, where he started studying at the Sunderland School of Arts (North-East of England) and discovered wood sculpture. The following year, he followed a friend to London, where he worked with several craftsmen/women to support himself. Back in Russia several years later, he started direct carving sculptures.

Direct carving is an approach to making carved sculpture where the actual process of carving suggests the final form rather than a carefully worked out preliminary model. (https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/d/direct-carving#:~:text=Direct%20carving%20is%20an%20approach)

Zadkine arrived in Paris in 1910, in the latin neighborhood. He studied at the Academy for Fine-Arts for 6 months before fully practicing outside of the institution.

• Permanent collection

The lecturer presented Zadkine’s work on wood, stone and bronze. The first works exposed, using the direct carving technique, reflect Zadkine’s interest for primitive arts.

Primitive arts

Native peoples art – also called primitive arts – have useful functions. Drawings and sculptures are considered like magical creations, objects of protection (E.H. Gombrich, Art History, Phaidon, 2001, 688 p.).

The « primitive » is understood as closer to the starting point of humanity, in opposition with « modern » as defined in the western world.

The term « primitivism » was coined at the end of the 19^th century. First, this term designates American, African or Oceanian objects seen through the lens of the western world. There is a moral and aesthetic  judgement towards primitive art works at the time when they appear in Europe at the beginning of the 20^th century.

There is no primitivism without the influx of artistic objects coming from Africa or Oceania. This influx took place during colonization, which means that numerous robberies took place against these artists. (Philippe Dagen, « Primitive art, a modern art? », France Culture, 2019).

• The 1920-25 years and cubism

Zadkine later focused on finding different ways of representing the human body, especially during his cubist era in the 1920s. He breaks codes thanks to his unique approach to volumes, with very little details.

Cubism

Cubism is one of the most important modern art movements of the beginning of the 20th century. Created under the influence of Paul Cézanne, by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, cubism was built in a small circle before other painters were interested.

Cubism offers a real deconstruction of the real world without ever getting abstract. The topics are often borrowed from the everyday life. Cubism does not attempt to erase representation but to transform it. Cubist artists invite spectators to see nature as geometric shapes.