Musee Zadkine Museum in Paris
The Musee Zadkine is dedicated to the sculptor Ossip Zadkine who moved to Paris in 1910 and this museum is located within the house and grounds where he lived and worked and first opened its doors in 1982.
About the Musee Zadkine Museum
As we just mentioned, the Musee Zadkine was opened in 1982 within the building that was his studio workshop and home for almost 50 years, yet originally, due to the layout of the buildings, the collections were somewhat fragmented and there were different routes that visitors could take.
However, on the 30th anniversary of where Ossip Zadkine lived and worked between 1928 and 1967, the doors of this museum re-opened after a complete renovation project had been undertaken to ensure it was a place of conservation, but accessible to all, including the disabled.
There are different galleries that show the different works of Ossip Zadkine through the different periods of his life and how he had different styles and one of the galleries is purely devoted to works that he produced within the first ten years of being in Paris.
The presentation of works has been re-thought as a monograph presentation of the collection, with more exhibits on display than there were originally and one area shows his early works in a Cubism style and the modelling of sculptures for casting in bronze, whereas another shows the next stage in his artist development and the use of mythology in many sculptures.
The staging of the Musee Zadkine has been designed to enhance the displays and create a dialogue between the many works on display with the walls and furnishings being in a matt white to enhance the works further.
Different wooden sculptures from a different period of his work are also on display, which in fact, are in the first room you come to, along with some in stone, which was a studio room that Ossip Zadkine fell in love with when he first saw the building.
In fact, he was very fond of utilising this material from early on in his career right through to the Prometheus sculpture completed in the 1950s, which was in a complete contrast to the bronzes and these utilised the direct carving method that Ossip Zadkine was so fond of.
There is a gallery showing decorative au enter the garden shows a monumental contrast work called the Girl with Bird in granite and there are many different works from later on right through to the year that Ossip Zadkine died and includes a maquette of the commission he received for producing a monument to Van Gogh.
However, there is also the garden, which has been beautifully preserved and is also where some of his statues are displayed and some are still where this sculptor placed them originally. One of these sculptures called The Torso of the Ruined Town is a scaled down version of the monument erected in Rotterdam as a memorial to the destruction caused during the German bombings in World War II.
Within the garden there is also the old workshop that Ossip Zadkine had constructed in the 1950s and this has also been renovated to provide another space with different items on display including a granite slab that had come from a quarry, which had a trace of a torso on it, and originally laid down in the garden, this is now stood up on display.
You will also find that there is an entirely new reception area, and those with reduced mobility can now access all areas of this museum including the garden, that has paths raised, but in keeping with the same format as the original pathways.
So if you like art and are keen to see where someone lived and worked, then the Musee Zadkine is a great place to visit and is far more intimate and unusual compared to some of the large museums in Paris like the Musee d’Orsay.
Visiting the Musee Zadkine
Located in the 6th Arrondissement of Paris in the former home of Ossip Zadkine, this museum is open on a Tuesday through to a Sunday from 10am to 6pm, however, it is always closed on a Monday and on all French National Holidays, such as 1st May.
You will be pleased to know that access to the permanent collections at the Musee Zadkine are completely free of charge to visit. However there is a charge for any temporary exhibitions they hold and these do vary in cost, although to give you an idea, one at the start of 2018 was a cost of €7 per adult, but still free to those under the age of 18 or those with disabilities with proof of eligibility.
Audio guides are also available to rent, which product a great way of finding out more about the permanent collections, and available in several different languages including English, these are a cost of €5 as of 2018.
There is also a dedicated sales area with catalogues, postcards and various books, etc, which are for sale all relating to Ossip Zadkine and his work, plus there is a library and resource centre that holds his drawings and manuscripts, but this is only accessible by prior arrangement with an appointment.
Lecture tours and even workshops for both children and adults are available, and again you would need to book these in advance, and to find out more including dates and costs you would need to telephone on: +33 (0) 1 55 42 77 20.
Access to the Musee Zadkine
You can access the Musee Zadkine by different means of public transport in Paris like via the Metro Stations called the Vavin stop serving line 4 and the Notre-Dame des Champs stop serving line 12.
If you are travelling into or out of Paris via train, then the nearest RER train station is the Port-Royal stop serving line B, yet you can also get to this museum and many other tourist attractions situated within walking distance via the bus lines 38, 58, 68, 82, 83 and 91, along with the Noctilien Night Bus Service via lines N01, N02, N14, N21 and N122.
