Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a photographic photography by Ossip Zadkine. It dates from 1937 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
The image presents a 1937 sculpture by Ossip Zadkine, reproduced as a black‑and‑white photograph mounted on a green backing. The work, untitled, depicts two seated figures positioned closely together, their forms rendered in a stark, simplified manner.
Subject & Meaning
The composition features a pair of figures whose bodies merge into a unified mass, their arms encircling each other's shoulders. The expressionless faces and intertwined posture suggest an intimate, perhaps contemplative relationship, emphasizing unity over individual distinction.
Technique & Style
Carved from a single stone block, the sculpture is characterized by smooth, planar surfaces and angular geometry rather than fluid curves. The reduction of detail to essential lines creates a monolithic presence, while the calm, featureless faces reinforce a sense of anonymity.
History & Provenance
The photograph originates from a collection assembled by William Kineton Parkes in 1938. Parkes gathered responses from contemporary sculptors, including Zadkine, through questionnaires distributed in the 1920s, preserving visual records of their work for posterity.
Context
Created in the interwar period, the piece reflects Zadkine’s shift toward abstraction and structural simplification, aligning with broader modernist trends that sought to distill form to its fundamental elements.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ossip Alexeevich Zadkine was a Russian and French sculptor, painter, lithographer and representative of the School of Paris.
