Jean Lambert-Rucki (1888 Kraków - 1967) Key, ca. 1945-1950

Patinated bronze, sheet metal with colored elements,
height 113 cm, 35.5 × 27 cm (base)
Signed on the base: "J. Lambert-Rucki" and numbered: "EA I/IV"
foundry mark

Analogous sculpture (edition EA II/IV) reproduced in:
- Artur Winiarski, "Jean Lambert-Rucki 1888-1967," exhibition catalog, Villa la Fleur, Warsaw, 2017, p. 202.

Jean Lambert-Rucki was a versatile artist. His work included sculpture, design and painting. "One of Lambert--Rucki's special qualities as an artist was his exceptional talent for experimenting with different materials. He had an unusually rich repertoire of skills in using particular techniques and combining them with each other." (Artur Winiarski, "Jean Lambert-Rucki 1888-1967," exhibition catalog, Villa la Fleur, Warsaw, 2017, p. 186.) The trigger for the creation of a whole series of unique metal realizations was an episode when, at the end of the war, Lambert-Rucki, while walking past a demolished church, spotted a weathervane in the form of a rooster on its surviving bell tower. The element so intrigued and delighted the artist that he longed to see it closer. Unfortunately, the building's construction did not allow him to get close, so Rucki decided to create a similar rooster himself. Soon, a whole series of tin birds - and more - appeared in the artist's studio. "Using the technical possibilities of forged sheet metal, the artist also created other unique sculptures. There were scarecrows, figures of angels, a number of abstract compositions, as well as a portrait of Mrs. Rucka - the artist's wife. Other works took up animalistic themes (for example, Head of a Bull)." (Artur Winiarski, "Jean Lambert-Rucki 1888-1967," op. cit., p. 189.)