This head, with its so-called “lead eyes”, takes its name from the metal with which the eyes were originally inlaid, and which today has disappeared. It is emblematic of his work of the post-war years. With this austere-looking head, Zadkine pushes stylization of form to its extremes. Simplification of planes. The removal of certain details and disproportionality of those retained (the protuberance of the skull which has turned into a helmet, the elongation of the bridge of the nose, the flattening of the face, the geometrization of the eyebrow arch and the exaggeration of the naso-labial fold). Here, Zadkine's art is very close to that of Modigliani. The two artists knew each other well. It is not an art of mimesis based on the imitation of nature, but on the free reconstruction of form, of invention.

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.