Orpheus
1956
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.
Details
- Plan number: S06
- Zone: Urban nature
- Title: Orpheus
- Creator: Ossip Zadkine
- Date: 1956
- Material: bronze
- Acquisition: purchase, 1959
- Object number: MID.B.151
Zadkine has depicted a modern interpretation of Orpheus: as a torn and fragmented figure. His broken body becomes a lyre; his legs move forward, but his upper body twists backward and his face is distraught. He turns to the heavens in despair with his song.
Orpheus can be seen as a symbol of urban culture and art, seeking to control wild nature. Urban wilderness is also nature, created by human hands. The artist depicts not only Orpheus’s power, but also his despair. What are the dangers of human intervention in nature?
Ossip Zadkine was a French artist with Belarusian roots. He harbored great admiration for Auguste Rodin, and was interested in non-Western art and Cubism. Initially, he stayed as close as possible to the form of the material, often wood or stone. From 1927, his works began to take on a more complex structure, becoming more dynamic and baroque.
From the same artist
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.
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.
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