Ossip (Iosel) Zadkine - biography

Ossip Zadkine (Russian: Осип Цадкин; July 14, 1890 – November 25, 1967) was a Russian-born artist who lived in France. He is primarily known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs.

Early years and career

Zadkine was born as Yossel Aronovich Tsadkin (Russian: Иосель Аронович Цадкин) in Vitebsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. His father was Jewish; his mother was of Scottish ancestry.

After attending art school in London, Zadkine settled in Paris about 1910. There he became part of the new Cubist movement (1914-1925). He later developed his own style, one that was strongly influenced by African art.

Zadkine served as a stretcher-bearer in the French Army during World War I, and was wounded in action. He spent the World War II years in America. His best-known work is probably the sculpture "The Destroyed City" (1951-1953), represents a man without a heart, a memorial to the destruction of the center of the Dutch city Rotterdam in 1940 by the German Luftwaffe.

Personal life

Zadkine taught at his own school of sculpture. He died in Paris in 1967 at the age of 77 after undergoing abdominal surgery and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse. His former home and studio is now the Musée Zadkine.