Artist of the Day, September 10, 2025 : Antoine Pevsner, a Russian-born, French sculptor (#2362)

Antoine Pevsner (1886 – 1962) was a Russian-born sculptor and the older brother of Alexii Pevsner and Naum Gabo. As the originators of Constructivism and pioneers of kinetic art, the brothers are considered pioneers of twentieth-century sculpture. They made numerous prominent pieces, for instance Antoine's widely known sculpture The Flight of the Bird, located at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.

Pevsner was born as Natan Borisovich Pevzner in Russian Empire, into a Jewish family. Among the originators of and having coined the term, Constructivism, and pioneers of kinetic art, Pevsner and his brother Naum Gabo discovered a new use for metals and welding and made a new marriage of art and mathematics. Pevsner said: "Art must be inspiration controlled by mathematics. I have a need for peace, symphony, orchestration." He was one of the first to use the blowtorch in sculpture, welding copper rods onto sculptural forms. Along with his brother Naum, he issued the Realist Manifesto in 1920, which they hung on the city wall. This text preaches a complete departure from the reality beyond which the brothers sought to transcend.

He left the Soviet Union in 1923 and moved to Paris, where he would live for the rest of his life. He began sculpting in 1923 and created assemblages in plastic, devising forms to give them colours through the interaction of components of the light spectrum.

In 1931 he joined the Parisian art movement Abstraction-Creation and became a member, and from 1946 he was the organiser of the New Realities exhibition salons.

Among the honors he received were a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris (1956-7) and the Legion of Honour (1961)

© 2025. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by  Antoine Pevsner or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Antoine Pevsner

Antoine Pevsner

Abstract Forms, circa 1913

Realistic Manifesto (Realisticheskii Manifest), circa 1920

Model for a fountain, circa 1920

The Eye, circa 1923

Pour un Haut-Relief, circa 1923

Head, circa 1923-24

Torso, circa 1924-26

Model for the Statue of Aphrodite in the Ballet ‘La Chatte", circa 1927

Model for the Statue of Aphrodite in the Ballet ‘La Chatte", circa 1927

Anchored Cross, circa 1933

Projection dans l'espace, circa 1935–36

Surface développable, circa 1938

Surface développable, circa 1938-39

Projection into space, circa 1938-39

Superficie, circa 1941

Developable Column, circa 1942

Le Lis Noir, circa 1943 (Spiral Construction)

For the Facade of a Museum, circa 1943-44

Construction dans l'oeuf (Construction in the Egg), circa 1948

Page from Gabo, circa 1948

Dynamic Projection at Thirty Degrees, circa 1951-52

Maquette of a Monument Symbolising the Liberation of the Spirit, circa 1952

Dynamic projection at the 30th degree, circa 1953

Column Of Peace, circa 1954

Phénix, circa 1957

Construction in Space and in the Third and Fourth Dimensions, circa 1959-62

Construction spatiale aux troisième et quatrième dimensions, circa 1961

The Last Burst, circa 1962

Galaxy of arts