At the age of fifteen, Ossip Zadkine left his native town of Vitebsk for England. After learning the art of woodcarving, he continued on to Paris, where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts together with Jacques Lipchitz. In 1911 he moved to La Ruche. This work was inspired by African sculptures.

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• "After living with that wood for three days, I was possessed by the thought of a preacher, a prophet, compelling me to take up the hammer and chisel."

• Ossip Zadkine

• Le maillet et le ciseau. Souvenirs de ma vie.

• Paris, A.Michel, 1968