Ossip Zadkine: A Life Bridging Russian Roots and French Modernism Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), born Yossel Aronovich Tsadkin in Vitebsk, Belarus, was a pivotal figure in 20th-century art, primarily recognized as a sculptor but also accomplished as a painter and lithographer. His artistic journey spanned continents and movements, reflecting the turbulent times he lived through. Born into a Jewish family—his father was Jewish and his mother claimed Scottish ancestry—Zadkine’s early life was marked by a large family (five siblings) and exposure to diverse cultural influences within the Russian Em…