Forêt humaine II

In »Human Forest II«, fingers become branches, bodies become trunks, and humans trees. Individual body parts can be vaguely discerned, however the dense group of figures looks like a conglomeration that is both human and vegetable.

Ossip Zadkine, born in today’s Belorussia, moved to Paris in 1909 and soon became a member of the Cubist avant-garde. In many of his later works he explored the metamorphosis of man and plant, whereby he was especially interested in the transformation of man and tree. Zadkine understood this transformation as a metaphor for newly burgeoning life, which acquires a special meaning against the background of World War II.

Although his creations bear a resemblance to Max Ernst’s (1891–1976) wall paintings, the forest was a positive emotional point of reference for Zadkine. Their natural power also finds expression in this bronze sculpture. Between 1948 and 1963 Zadkine produced four versions of this »Human Forest«.