Jean Lambert-Rucki (1888–1967) was a Polish avant-garde artist, sculptor, and

graphic artist A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, p ...

. He was best known for his participation in the Cubist, Surrealist and Art Deco movements. He exhibited at the 1913 Salon d'Automne in Paris; from 1919 was represented by both

Léonce Rosenberg Léonce Rosenberg (12 September 1879 in Paris – 31 July 1947 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was an art collector, writer, publisher, and one of the most influential French art dealers of the 20th century. His greatest impact was as a supporter and promote ...

at the Galerie de l'Effort Moderne and the art dealer Paul Guillaume. In March 1920, Lambert-Rucki exhibited at the second exhibition of la Section d'Or, Galerie de La Boétie, Paris, and participated in the first exhibition of l'Union des Artistes Modernes, where he continued to show his works. He worked with diverse styles and media, at times he was influenced by the tribal art of Africa. Lambert-Rucki also became well known for his Cubist cityscapes.Comité Jean Lambert-Rucki
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Early life

Born in 1888 in Kraków, Poland, Jean Lambert-Rucki was the youngest of a large family. He was eleven years old when his father died suddenly. A child prodigy, he earned a living by making portraits that surprised the

Bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

of Kraków. He attended art school in his hometown to pursue his studies, and then went to the School of Fine Arts in Kraków where he became friends with Moïse Kisling, who was an artist he found n Paris. His youth was marked by immersion in the rich folklore of Central Europe. He made several trips to Russia, frequented gypsies, and learned Russian dances. His work throughout his career remained deeply imbued with the product of these early experiences. Enthused by an exhibition of works by Gauguin in Kraków, he decided to go to Paris and arrived one morning in February 1911 with 17 Francs in his pocket. He immediately met friends of Polish origin who hosted him. He enrolled at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

where he mingled with bohemian artists of Montparnasse at Le Dôme Café and Café de la Rotonde. There he met Chaïm Soutine, Léopold Survage, Tsuguharu Foujita, Blaise Cendrars, Max Jacob and

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

; who he shared a room with at 8 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in Montparnasse, a studio rented to them by the Polish poet, writer and art dealer Léopold Zborowski. Lambert-Rucki earned his living by retouching photographs in Montmartre, something which did not fulfill his monetary needs. In 1913 he moved into a studio at 29 rue Campagne Première in the

14th arrondissement of Paris The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory", after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is situa ...

. In 1914 he engaged in the French Foreign Legion to serve France during the war. He changed his name to Jean Lambert-Rucki. He was wounded during the war and he was assigned to the Archeological Service at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in Greece, where he conducted excavations. He later made copies of the mosaics of ''Sainte Sophie de Salonique'' for the Louvre under the direction of Jean Guiffrey the Curator for the Department of Painting, Musées nationaux. During his military service he befriended sculptors Joseph Csaky and Gustave Miklos. Miklos became the godfather of Lambert-Rucki's daughter Théano, called "Mara". In 1918, demobilized, Lambert-Rucki returned to Paris where he settled at 12 rue du Moulin-de-Beurre in the Montparnasse district.

After World War I

With the support given by

from 1918, Cubism returned as a central issue for artists. With the Parisian Salons dominated by a Return to order, the artist, theorist Albert Gleizes attempted to resuscitate the spirit of the Section d'Or in 1920, with the aim of introducing innovative artists of different nationalities to the general public, and organizing exhibitions with literary and musical auditions in many countries. Further support for the endeavor came from

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

, Alexander Archipenko,

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...

, Henri Laurens, Jacques Villon, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Louis Marcoussis, Joseph Csaky, Léopold Survage and Jean Lambert-Rucki. In 1920 Lambert-Rucki married Monique Bickel (born 1892), who was a pupil of the sculptor

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

. Their daughter Mara Rucki was born 7 April 1920. In 1923 he became friends with the Coppersmith Jean Dunand, with whom he worked with for twenty years. He refused the proposal of Jean Dunand to co-sign their works (except at the very beginning of their cooperation). From 1925 to the end of his life, Lambert-Rucki exhibited his works, many of which were commissioned, throughout Europe, Canada and the United States, and churches (large renovations after the Great War). The same year, he collaborated with Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean Dunand for the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts of 1925, the exhibition that epitomized what came to be called decades later Art Deco, a "modern" style characterized by a streamlined geometric and symmetric compositions, and a sleek machine-age look. In 1930 Lambert-Rucki became one of the pioneers of Modern Religious Art. In 1931, he became an active member of the Union des Artistes Modernes (UAM), where he exhibited alongside René Herbst, Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (Le Corbusier), Robert Mallet-Stevens, the architect

Georges-Henri Pingusson Georges-Henri Pingusson (July 26, 1894 – October 22, 1978) was a French architect. Biography Georges-Henri Pingusson was born 1894 in Clermont-Ferrand. 1920-1925 he studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He built hotel ''La ...

, Jean Fouquet (for whom he made jewelry), in exhibits that emphasized design over decoration. Jean Lambert-Rucki became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

French citizen in 1932. In 1933, he left his Montparnasse studio for one at 26 Rue des Plantes, Paris. In May 1943, he participated in a group exhibition of artists in the "2ème groupe" at Galerie Drouant-David in Paris. He remained solitary throughout his life, fleeing the world with its demands and its vanities. His ''raison d'être'' was the incessant need to create something "new".

Death

In 1967 at the of 80, he died at his home at Rue des Plantes, Paris, France from a vascular disease.

Exhibitions during his life-time

* 1913, Salon d'Automne * 1919, Salon d'Automne,

(Galerie de l'Effort Moderne) and with the dealer Paul Guillaume * 1920, the second exhibition of la Section d'Or, Galerie de La Boétie and the Salon des Indépendants * 1923, one man show at Galerie de l'Effort Moderne * 1925, l'Hôtel du Collectionneur and the Fumoir, with Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann and Jean Dunand * 1932, presents a religious sculpture at the Crémaillère that provokes a scandal that forced him to remove his work from the exhibition * 1934, first manifestation d'Art Sacré at l'Hôtel des Ducs de Rohan * 1936, participates at the manifestation d'Art Sacré, l'OGAR (Office Général d'Art Religieux), 241 bd St Germain * 1937, Exposition Internationale, Pavillon de l'U.A.M. He creates ''l'Accueil des Artistes Modernes'', a sculpted wall at the entrance, and several masks and sculptures inside the pavillon. He presents ''Bonhomme Lambert'' at the Pavillon de la Lumière. He participates in the Pavillon de la Solidarité Nationale and makes jewelry for Jean Fouquet. The French State commissions a sculpture entitled ''l'Homme au pardessus''. * 1938, Exposition de l'Art Sacré, Pavillon Marial * 1942, Solo exhibition at Galerie Drouant-David, where he exhibits paintings and sculpture * 1943, exhibits surrealist drawings rue d'Anjou. Exhibition "2ème groupe", Galerie Drouant-David * 1947, Exposition de la Céramique Française Contemporaine, Baden-Baden, then in Vienna * 1949, Salon des Artistes-Décorateurs * 1953, solo exhibition Galerie La " Gentilhommière ", Boulevard Raspail * 1954, solo exhibition Galerie Drouant-David, 52 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré * 1958, exhibition Cairo, Egypt

Selected works

* ''La visite'', 1919, 65 x 92 cm, Musée des Années 30, Boulogne-Billancourt, Dépôt du

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

, 1995 * ''Composition'', 1919, oil on canvas, 56.5 × 47 cm, Musée d'Évreux * ''Les Promeneurs'', 1924, oil on panel, 33.5 × 46.5 cm Musée d'Évreux * Several works at the

Musée départemental de l'Oise The ''Musée départemental de l'Oise'' (MUDO, Museum of the Oise Department) is a museum in the former bishop's palace in Beauvais, Oise, in northern France. It is classified as a historical monument. Building history The museum is housed in th ...

* ''Saint Sebastien'', 1950, sculpted wood, monochrome paint, 181 x 48 x 25 cm, Mont-de-Marsan; musée de la ville

Selected literature

* Artur Winiarski, Jean Lambert-Rucki, Warsaw, 2017 * J. Lambert-Rucki, Marc-André Ruan, Jean-Pierre Tortil, 1988 * Lambert-Rucki: A Lyrical Surrealist, Soufer Gallery, 199? * Gargallo, Csáky, Lambert-Rucki: exposition Mairie de Paris, Musée Bourdelle, Pablo Gargallo, Jozsef Csáky, 1977 * Jean Lambert-Rucki, 1888–1967: vente, Hôtel Drouot, salle 1, M A Ruan, J P Tortil & Jacques de Vos, 1971 * Jean Lambert-Rucki: présentation d'une donation, 11 octobre 1997-18 janvier 1998, Musée départemental de l'Oise, Beauvais, 1997 * Jean-Lambert-Rucki (1888–1967): Un sculpteur au service de l'Eglise (1938–1967), Alain Choubart, 1992 * Atelier Jean Lambert-Rucki et Mara Rucki, Hôtel Drouot, 1981 * Jean Lambert-Rucki : et les modernes classiques : Galerie Franka Berndt Bastille, Paris, du 13 septembre au 31 octobre 1990, Hôtel des ventes (Enghien-les-Bains, France), 1990 * Lambert-Rucki et les modernes classiques: Exposition. Franka Berndt Bastille, Galerie (Paris), 1990 * Alexandre Vialatte au miroir de l'imaginaire, 2003 * Collection Mara Et Léano Rucki, 25 Sculptures de Jean Lambert-Rucki. Mara Rucki, Léano Rucki, Tajan SA., 2003 * Lambert-Rucki 888–1967 collection Jacques De Vos et à divers amateurs; Art nouveau, art déco : vente, Paris, Drouot-Montaigne, 9 mars 1994, commissaires-priseurs, Mes Christian de Quay, Delavenne et Lafarge, Jacques De Vos, 1994 * Art contemporain: Paul Kallos, né en 1928, bel ensemble de 18 oeuvres de 1954 à 1984, ensemble exceptionnel d'oeuvres de Jean Lambert-Rucki, 1888–1967, 12 sculptures, épreuves d'artistes, 2 tableaux provenant de la famille de l'artiste : vente, Paris, Drouot-Montaigne, 14 avril 1992, commissaire-priseur, Me Pierre Cornette de Saint-Cyr Paul Kallos, Jean Lambert- Rucki, 1992 * L'Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac et ses bâtisseurs, Claude Bergeron, Geoffrey Simmins, Jean Rochon (dom.), 1997 * History of Modern Design: Graphics and Products Since the Industrial Revolution, David Raizman, 2003 * Modern Figurative Paintings, 1890–1950: The Paris Connection, Martin Wolpert, Jeffrey Winter, 2004 * Collection Sjöberg: Jean Lambert-Rucki, Roger Bezombes, Henri Sjöberg, Drouot, 2002 * The Originality of the Avant-garde and Other Modernist Myths, Rosalind E. Krauss, 1986 * Marcel Breuer and a Committee of Twelve Plan a Church: A Monastic Memoir, Hilary Thimmesh, Marcel Breuer, 2011 * Jean Dunand: his life and works, Félix Marcilhac, 1991, * 橋本指輪コレクション: Historic Rings, Diana Scarisbrick, 2004 * Liturgical Arts, 1959 * International Art Market, 1983 * Library Catalog of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). Library, 1987 * Jean Lambert-Rucki, 1888–1967, Jacques de Vos, Paris, 1991 * Art Deco, Judith Miller, 2007 * * Les Africanistes, peintres voyageurs: 1860–1960, Lynne Thornton, 1990 * History of art, Kirsten Bradbury, 2005 * The encyclopedia of art deco, Alastair Duncan, 1998 * Christie's Art Deco, Fiona Gallagher, Simon Andrews, Michael Jeffery, 2000 * Art Deco, Victor Arwas, 2000 * Art deco 1910–1939, Tim Benton, Charlotte Benton, Ghislaine Wood, 2003 * The Andy Warhol collection: sold for the benefit of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Volume 1, Andy Warhol, John L. Marion, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, 1988 * 20th Century Decorative Arts, Sotheby's (Firm), 1990 * The design encyclopedia, Mel Byars, 2004 * Rings: Through the Ages, Anne G. Ward, 1981 * Art, Design, Photo, Alexander Davis, 1973 * "Primitivism" in 20th century art: affinity of the tribal and the modern, Volume 2, William Stanley Rubin, Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.), 1984 * Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s, Patricia Bayer, 1998 * Autour d'un piano de Jean Dunand: sculpteur, dinandier, laqueur, 1877–1942, Jean Dunand, Galerie Jacques de Vos, Claire Bussac, 1991 * Art Deco, Eva Weber, 2004 * Collection Mara et Léano Rucki: 25 sculptures de Jean Lambert-Rucki, Félix Marcilhac, 2003 * Kisling and his friends, Barbara Brus-Malinowska, Jerzy Malinowski, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, 1996

Catalogue raisonné

A Catalogue raisonné of the works of Jean Lambert-Rucki is being prepared by the ''Comité Jean Lambert-Rucki'' (an association created 29 October 2008 and declared in the ''Journal Officiel'' 12 November 2008).

References

External links

Agence Photographique de la Réunion des musées nationaux et du Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées

Comité Jean Lambert-Rucki

Brève biographie de Jean Lambert Rucki

''25 sculptures de Jean Lambert-Rucki'' à l'espace Tajan

Op de hoogte jrg 34, 1937, no 5, pp. 143–145 (article published in the Netherlands)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert-Rucki, Jean 1888 births 1967 deaths Artists from Kraków Polish sculptors Polish male sculptors Polish painters Polish male painters Modern sculptors Modern painters Polish surrealist artists Cubist artists 20th-century French sculptors French male sculptors School of Paris Art Deco artists Abstract sculptors 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists French male painters French military personnel of World War I Académie Colarossi alumni French abstract artists Polish emigrants to France