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Joseph Constant - Wood Engraved Sculpture - Two Monkeys
יוסף קונסטנט - פסל עץ - זוג קופים
Joseph Constant (Constantinovsky) 1892-1969 was born in Jaffa, Palestine, but lived as a child, a juvenile and a young grown up artist in Russia (this is why he is sometimes considered as a Russian artist). He came back to Palestine in 1919. In 1923 he went to study art in Paris where he lived and worked until 1965 (and this is why he is sometimes considered as a French artist). During this period he shared his time between his atelier in Montparnasse and the studio he had in Tel Aviv and later in Ramat Gan (and this is why he is considered to be an Israeli sculptor and painter).
תראו את מבע העיניים של הקוף
שמולנו וכיצד רוכן ונצמד אליו בן זוגו - יחד בלכידות ובאינטימיות אל מול עולם רחב שמסביב.
יוסף קונסטנט (קונסטנטינובסקי), צייר ופסל ישראלי, היה גלף עץ מחונן ועז ביטוי ונודע
בכינויו "פסל החיות". הדמויות הרגישות והעדינות שיצר, בטאו את החיפוש המתמיד שלו אחר
הטוהר והתמימות שנשמרו אצל החיות בטבע, ואבדו מבלי שוב אצל בני האדם בחברה האנושית.
לאחר לידתו ביפו (1892) חזרו הוריו לרוסיה שם גדל והתפתח כצייר ואמן צעיר בעל עיין
חדה ורגישה. ב-1919 חזר לארץ ישראל כאמן "חלוץ". ספוג ברוח האימפרסיוניזם האירופי השתכן
בתל-אביב ופעל יחד עם חברו הצייר
יצחק פרנקל (פרנל) בזירת האמנות הארץ ישראלית של שנות העשרים. ב-1923 עבר לפאריס
שם הושפע מן המגמות הריאליסטיות של הפסלים הצרפתים של תחילת המאה ה-20 והחליט להתמסר
לפיסול. בשנות החמישים קיבל קונסטנט מעיריית רמת גן דירת סטודיו עם חצר קטנה בפינת
שיכון ותיקים שבצפונה של העיר, ומאז חילק את זמנו בין האטלייה שלו בפאריס והסטודיו
בישראל. פסלי העץ שלו מתקופה זו, המגולפים ביד אמן, נחשבים מפניני הפיסול הישראלי.
קונסטנט נפטר בישראל ב-1969. על-שמו מקיימת עירית רמת-גן גלריית פיסול קטנה וחשובה השוכנת
במקום שבו חי ויצר -
הגלריה לפיסול ע"ש יוסף קונסטנט. אתם מוזמנים.
Two Monkeys by Joseph Constant-1
Two Monkeys by Joseph Constant-2
Constant and his friend, the painter Yitzhak Frenkel, are credited to be among those who brought the message of the Ecole de Paris French realism and impressionism to the artists of Palestine and Israel. Constant and Frenkel were also renowned for their bohemian way of life which stood out against the background of the Spartan ideals and reality of the pioneers society which surrounded them. Towards the end of his life Constant permanently moved to Israel where he lived until his death. His studio in Ramat Gan has become a small yet important sculpture gallery - the Joseph Constant Sculpture Gallery.
Biography of the painter and sculptor Joseph Constant - ביוגרפיה של הצייר והפסל יוסף קונסטנט
"Constant" - Artist's signature
In the beginning of his career, Constant practiced only painting and was renowned for his beautiful animal paintings. In the thirties he began getting interested in sculptures, and then he abandoned painting almost completely and focused on stone sculpting and wood engraving. Constant created beautiful sensitive wood engraved animal sculptures and was known as the finest "Animal Sculptor" in Israel. He was part of a group of Israeli artists who were referred to as "the Animalists" because they received their inspiration from nature and used the organic forms of the animals as a tool for expressing pure, formal, and half abstract values.
As a painter he practiced pencil, charcoal and ink illustrations as well as oil on canvas and water colors on canvas painting techniques. His move from these fine painting techniques to sculpture is very interesting and not so common. Usually, most of the sculptors also practice painting or drawing, even if only for the purpose of sketching their models, but not so many painters are able to switch into sculpting and master the technique of wood engraving, as Constant had so beautifully succeeded in doing.
Height of sculpture: 18 cm - 7 in
Width of sculpture: 12 cm - 4.7 in
Depth of sculpture: 6 cm - 2.3 in
Height of cuboid pedestal: 4.5 cm - 1.8 in
Width of cuboid pedestal: 16 cm - 6.2 in
Depth of cuboid pedestal: 7.7 cm - 3 in
Sculpture material: Wood
Pedestal material: Wood - sculpture attached to pedestal by the artist
Sculpture technique: Hand engraving
Origin: Israel - French
Date: Circa 1950
Signature: "Constant" - signed by the artist - engraved in wood on the lower right
side of the sculpture.
Price: $3200
References:
"Two Storks" - Animals Drawing by Joseph Constant - Charcoal on Paper
Biography of Joseph Constant - The Artist who Loved Animals
Notes:
Joseph Constant had a second career as a writer. At the time he lived in Paris he wrote several books in French under the pseudonym of
Michel Matveev, the most renowned of them is the book Les Traques - a tragic story about Jews travelling across Europe in search of a safe haven.
The book was published in 1933 and later translated to English:
Weep Not For The Dead and to German:
Die
Gehetzten.
Item: P1002/SCU001 - Joseph Constant Wood Sculpture
© Dan Levy - Art Pane Home of Original Israeli Paintings and Sculptures
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