Jean LAMBERT-RUCKI (1888-1967), Meeting

Bronze, patinated casting; overall height 48.5 cm.
France, ca. 1924; later casting.
Two standing human figures, facing each other, wearing identical semicircular caps - bowler hats; figures pictured in below-knee view.
Signed on the back - on a block base "J. Lambert-Rucki".
Artist of Polish origin; born in Krakow, where he took his first steps in learning painting, in Mehoffer's studio. In 1911 he left for Paris. He shared a studio with Modigliani; he was friends with Moses Kisling and Chaim Soutin. Thanks to the surety of Fernand Légere, he came under the wing of Leon Rosenberg, a well-known art dealer, who facilitated his contacts with the Paris art world. Rucki was a versatile artist - painter, sculptor, graphic artist and designer. He designed luxury art-deco objects and jewelry. He participated in exhibitions. In the 1930s, he worked with the U.A.M - Union des Artistes Modernes; this association brought together many artists of the time (including Le Corbusier, Stevens, Mallet, Pingusson). He was attracted to Cubism and Surrealism; he combined modern forms with Byzantine, Romanesque and African art in his sculpture. Sacred art played a significant role in his work; his well-known work is the Stations of the Cross in the Church of St. Therese in Boulogne. He designed bas-reliefs, frescoes and stained glass windows. Among his best-known works-met at many auctions-are crucifixes with the austere, expressive figure of the Crucified Christ.
The sculpture on display is in the spirit of Léger's "tubism": the figures in small groups or pairs, usually wearing bowler hats - represent the regulars of Montmartre, participants in Parisian nightlife. The artist gave a similar, geometrized form to the designed figures of saints (St. Paul, St. John).