Le messager

The Messenger is a monumental work by artist Ossip Zadkine. It was gifted by the Broere Charitable Foundation  to the Monaco Oceanographic Institute in recognition of its efforts to protect the oceans. Cornelis Broere expressed a wish for the sculpture to be placed close to the Oceanographic Museum, in harmony with Albert I’s desire to bring together art and science: “To bring crashing together the two driving forces of civilisation: Art and Science.” The Messenger, also known as The Bearer of Gifts or The Navigator, was produced based on an original work in wood presented during the Universal Exposition of 1937.
This bronze version, unveiled on 7 November 2022 by the Sovereign Prince Albert II, is the third in a series of eight produced on the basis of the original by the Susse Frères Foundry in 1992. The base of the statue is made from stone from La Turbie. It is the figure of Prince Albert I who is depicted through Le Messager. The Scholar Prince brought back from his numerous oceanographic expeditions the results of his research so that they could be presented in the Museum, which he had established for this purpose.

Ossip Zadkine, who was born on 1890 in Belarus, was a French painter and sculptor of Russian origin. He moved to France in 1910. He left to study in English in Sunderland, in the north of England, where he attended lessons in wood sculpting at the city’s art school. He visited London’s museums and took classical sculpture classes. He continued his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and worked at La Ruche. In 1911, he exhibited his statues and drawings at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants. He frequented the École de Paris and met Brancusi, Apollinaire, Lipchitz, Picasso, Artemoff, Bourdelle, Survage and Sonia Delaunay. Matisse also visited his studio. He achieved international recognition in the 1930s. The Destroyed City, a statue created in 1953 for the city of Rotterdam, is a definitive piece.
In an innovative move, he introduced modern art to the public space. Zadkine’s art extends over half a century and includes: more than 400 sculptures; thousands of drawing, gouaches and watercolours; and engravings, book illustrations and tapestry cartoons. He died in Paris in 1967. He is recognised as one of the greatest sculptors of the twentieth century.