ZADOUNAÏSKY MICHEL (Mickaël)

RUSSIAN-FRENCH ( 1903 - 1983 )

Michel Zadounaïsky, born in Odessa (Russian Empire) in 1903 and died in Hauteville (Ain) in 1983, is a sculptor and ironworker from Lyon. He is considered as one of the rare ironworkers to have confronted wrought iron as a sculptor and not only as a craftsman.

Son of Russian emigrants, Michel Zadounaïsky settled in France in 1916 at the age of thirteen. He began his artistic apprenticeship at the Beaux-Arts in Lyon, but only stayed there for a few months. The city of Lyon then experienced a strong artistic emulation around the great names of Art Nouveau and Art Deco such as Sornay, Krass, Linossier, Piguet and Paulin.

In 1920, he discovered wrought iron work when he joined the Fournet luster factory. He also began embossing in the round, that is to say the confrontation with the metal with the sole tool of a hammer, and with the help of fire; techniques in which he became a master. His know-how and his perfectionism are known to the Parisian ironworker Raymond Subes, who made him job offers that he declined.

Four years later, in 1924, he opened his first workshop in Lyon at 76 rue Béchevelin and worked there until 1953, when he became one of the emblematic figures of Lyon's decorative arts.

By 1937, Michel Zadounaïsky's reputation was spreading. He was awarded the silver medal at the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques in Paris, then the gold medal of the French Craftsmen's Association.

In the autumn of 1935, Michel ZadounaÏsky took part in the first public event of the Group of Builders, which took place at the Bourse du Travail in Lyon. Alongside Michel Zadounaïsky, the group's artists included the painters Pierre Combet-Descombes, Marcel Avril, Emile Didier, Étienne Morillon, Robert Pernin, Jean Couty and Tony Garnier.
Today, many of his works are regularly sold at auction. In 2001, Michel Rambert, auctioneer, sold an important set of ironworks from the former collection of Michel Zadounaïsky. In 2005 a record auction took place for Michel Zadounaïsky at 105 000 €, for the luminous sculpture Serpents aux foliages, commissioned in 1935 by the Viscount de la Croix-Laval.