Jacques Lipchitz Essay

941 Words4 Pages

Jacques Lipchitz is one of the most significant sculptors of the 20th century due to his incredible versatility and ability to develop strong works that span the cubist movement and beyond. A personal friend of Picasso and Juan Gris, Lipchitz not only incorporated the main tenets of cubism but also pushed the limits of cubism beyond its time period. The Bather (Lipchizt, 1922-1925) stands on a pedestal bringing a cubist take on innately human moment of bathing by his life, time period and style that he practiced. Cubism was a style that started in the late 1900’s that deconstructed and reconstructed in abstract form and reaching the primeval geometric abstraction of art4. Cubism broke away from the tradition and the laws of perspective kept since the Renaissance masters. Causing the piece to be fractured and seen from multiple viewpoints3. This is especially important for sculpture …show more content…

World War I caused this departure from cubism, due to the destruction and helplessness of man against the machines of war. The war had an impact on many cubist artists at the time causing an initial shift to surrealism and some retreating to tradition3. However, Lipchitz felt that he needed to continue pushing the limits of sculpture in the tradition of Rodin and Bernini2. The resulting work of the Bather (1925) shows how the time, the man and the style combined to form a unique sculpture which is a combination of the cubist style and personal innovation. With Lipchitz own words, a rare privilege in the world of art history, the intent of the artist of developing an independent style that endures the test of time. As Lipchitz’s artistic career went on he moved on to other styles and sources of inspirations. It would be a great journey to see the evolution of the style of Lipchitz as he emigrated to the United States and until his