Forever on a quest to visit every small museum in Paris, the Zadkine Museum has been on the top of my list.

Ossip Zadkine, a Russian Jew, came to Paris in 1910 and worked mostly as a sculptor until his death in 1977 and became part of the cubist movement from 1914-1925. He was stretcher-bearer in WW I and was wounded in action.

In 1928 he setup his atelier/home on a quiet street near the Jardin du Luxembourg on rue Assas. The intimate space with its small rooms makes you feel like you are visiting an artist’s atelier rather than a museum. The collection of over 100 sculptures in bronze, wood, marble, and stone are sensual and bold.

Most impressive was the garden with steel gray intricate and simple sculptures against a background of ferns, ivy, and palm trees. I sat in the quiet garden and truly got a sense of how an artist created his own world in this beautiful setting. The museum is also an excellent representation of the romantic bygone era of the Montparnasse school of artists from the 1920’s and 30’s.

Zadkine Museum
100 bis, rue d'Assas
75006 Paris
Téléphone : 01 55 42 77 20
Open Tuesday to Friday 10AM-6PM
Metro: Notre Dame des Champs, Vavin

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Comments

[Craig McGinty]

Hi
Big fan of Zadkine myself, and if you ever get down to the south west of France you can visit the museum and church at Les Arques which also features his work, more here:

http://ateliersdesarques.com/pages%20village/VillageHistoire.html

and a piece I wrote after a visit:

http://www.thisfrenchlife.com/thisfrenchlife/2003/11/the_living_art_.html

All the best

Craig