Osip Zadkine's authentic works were first presented at a solo exhibition in Vitebsk

An exhibition of Ossip Zadkine, one of the greatest representatives of 20th-century avant-garde sculpture, has opened at the Vitebsk Art Museum.

Residents and guests of the city have the opportunity to see an exposition of our countryman, whom encyclopedias classify as a French sculptor, in such volume for the first time. An interesting detail: in 1900–1902, Ossip Zadkine studied at the Vitebsk City Four-Year School along with Marc Chagall and the future artist Viktor Mekler. He was born into the family of a teacher of ancient languages. In 1905, he was sent to relatives in the north of England, took sculpting lessons at a local art school, then lived in London, constantly visited the British Museum, and studied at the Polytechnic School. In 1909, he moved to Paris, settled in Montparnasse, entered the National School of Fine Arts, and worked in the «La Ruche». He was friends with Apollinaire, Picasso, Matisse, and Modigliani (who left a graphic portrait of Zadkine). His works were exhibited at the Paris Autumn Salon and the Salon des Indépendants, and later in Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Tokyo, Venice, Brussels, and New York. During World War II, he was in the USA, then returned to Paris.

In Rotterdam, the monument «The Destroyed City» by Ossip Zadkine is erected; he is also the author of monuments to Van Gogh in France and the Netherlands. The sculptor died in 1967 and is buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery. A museum of our countryman has been opened in Paris, and one of the streets is named after him.

Unfortunately, the name of Ossip Zadkine is not commemorated in any way in Vitebsk. Only two years ago, two of his works (the gouache painting "Lake" and the sculpture "The Little Pietà") were first shown in the sculptor's homeland – at the exhibition "Artists of the Paris School from Belarus" from the corporate collection of Belgazprombank, which also took place at the Art Museum. The current exhibition features 6 graphic works and one sculpture. Books and a postcard from Ossip Zadkine to Yuri Pen from the collection of the regional museum of local lore are also presented here.

Tatsiana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti"