Le rêveur de la forêt
1944
Ossip Zadkine
The power and volume of this reclining man contrast with the graceful, organic drawing on the figure's skin. As a Jew, it is not safe for Ossip Zadkine in Europe during the war years. He flees to the United States in 1941 and stays there until 1945. With 'The Dreamer in the Forest' the artist expresses his homesickness for Europe, and for the people he left behind.
Details
- Plan number: C16
- Zone: Collection pavilion
- Title: Le rêveur de la forêt
- Creator: Ossip Zadkine
- Date: 1944
- Material: sandstone
- Acquisition: donation, 1954
- Object number: MID.B.063
‘The dreamer in the forest’ depicts nature as a place of escape. Untouched nature can be frightening, but is also a place that offers peace and healing.
Ossip Zadkine is a French artist with Belarusian roots. He greatly admires Auguste Rodin, and has a great interest in non-Western art and cubism. In the beginning, he stayed as close as possible to the form of the material, often wood or stone. From 1927 onwards, his works acquired a more complex structure and became more dynamic and baroque.
From the same artist
Ossip Zadkine
This imposing figure is Orpheus. The Greek myths describe how, with his enchanting voice and accompanied by the lyre, he is able to tame wild nature and even unruly human beings. He is both a triumphant and tragic figure, for he loses his beloved Eurydice by looking backward as they leave the underworld.
Ossip Zadkine
The phoenix is a mythical bird rising from the flames. The ancient Greeks believed that this fabulous creature was capable of being reborn again and again from its own ashes. Ossip Zadkine has made the phoenix a symbol of France’s revival after the misery of WWII.
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