Paul Landowski
French sculptor of Christ the Redeemer and war memorials.
Paul Maximilien Landowski was a French sculptor born in Paris in 1875 to a Polish father who had fled the January Uprising and a French mother, Julie Vieuxtemps, who was the daughter of the composer Henri Vieuxtemps. He trained at the Académie Julian and later at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, winning the Prix de Rome in 1900 for his statue of David. This launched a career spanning fifty-five years, during which he created more than thirty-five monuments in Paris and twelve more in the surrounding region. One notable Parisian work is the Art Deco figure of Saint Geneviève on the Pont de la Tournelle, completed in 1928.
Landowski served in World War I, fighting in the Battle of the Somme and other engagements, and was awarded the Citation of the Order of the Artillery Brigade and the Croix de Guerre. The war deeply influenced his art; soon after the Armistice, he created *Les Fantomes*, the French memorial to the Second Battle of the Marne on the Butte de Chalmont in northern France, as well as two major war memorials in French North Africa: *Le Pavois* in Algiers (later concealed in the Memorial to the Liberation of Algeria) and the monument to victory and peace in Casablanca, which was relocated to Senlis, France in the 1960s.
His most famous work is the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, completed in 1931. This project involved collaboration with engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and sculptor Gheorghe Leonida; while Landowski is often credited with designing Christ’s head and hands, Leonida actually created the head at Landowski’s request. Landowski’s sculpture *The Boxer* won a gold medal in the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics, a distinction that accelerated his international fame. He served as Director of the French Academy in Rome from 1933 to 1937 and was a juror for the Prix Blumenthal, a grant for young French artists.
Landowski married Geneviève Nénot in 1907; they had two children—painter Nadine Landowski and agricultural engineer Jean Maximilian Landowski—both of whom died during World War II. After Geneviève’s death in 1912, he married Amélie Cruppi, with whom he had composer Marcel Landowski and pianist-painter Françoise Landowski-Caillet. Landowski died in 1961 following a heart attack in Boulogne-Billancourt, a Paris suburb, where a museum dedicated to his work holds over one hundred pieces.
- field
- Sculpture
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Over a fifty-five-year career, he produced over thirty-five monuments in Paris and twelve more in the surrounding area, including the Art Deco figure of St. Geneviève on the Pont de la Tournelle. His most famous work is the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, a collaboration with an engineer and another sculptor; some sources state Landowski designed the head and hands, though the head was created by the other sculptor at Landowski’s request. His sculpture “The Boxer” won a gold medal in the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics, which boosted his international reputation and led to major commissions worldwide. The experience of fighting in World War I, including the Battle of the Somme, deeply influenced his art; afterward he created *Les Fantomes*, the French Memorial to the Second Battle of the Marne in Northern France, and two major war memorials in French North Africa: *Le Pavois* in Algiers and the monument to victory and peace in Casablanca. He served as Director of the French Academy in Rome from 1933 to 1937 and was an art juror for the Prix Blumenthal. A museum dedicated to his work in Boulogne-Billancourt displays over one hundred pieces.
Reader's Guide
Paul Landowski’s career, spanning fifty-five years, was shaped by his classical training at the École des Beaux-Arts and his victory in the Prix de Rome, but also profoundly marked by his combat experience in World War I, including the Battle of the Somme. The war directly influenced his artistic output; soon after the Armistice, he created *Les Fantomes*, the French memorial to the Second Battle of the Marne, as well as two major war monuments in French North Africa: *Le Pavois* in Algiers and the monument to victory and peace in Casablanca. His best-known work, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, was a collaborative project with engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and sculptor Gheorghe Leonida, who is credited with creating the statue’s head. Landowski’s sculpture *The Boxer* won a gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics art competitions, a victory that accelerated his international fame and led to further high-profile commissions. He produced over thirty-five monuments in Paris alone and twelve more in the surrounding area, including the Art Deco figure of Saint Geneviève on the Pont de la Tournelle. From 1933 to 1937, he served as Director of the French Academy in Rome, and he also acted as a juror for the Prix Blumenthal, a grant supporting young French artists. His personal life was marked by tragedy: his first wife died in 1912, and two of his children died during World War II. A museum dedicated to his work in Boulogne-Billancourt holds over one hundred of his pieces.
Did You Know?
- Some sources indicate Landowski designed Christ's head and hands, but Gheorghe Leonida created the head.
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