Theseus

1943

Jacques Lipchitz French and American (born Lithuania), 1891–1973

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Jacques Lipchitz dedicated several drawings, prints, and a sculpture to the struggle between the ancient Greek hero, Theseus, and the Minotaur, the monster imprisoned in the labyrinth in Crete. Here, as the creature raises his horns and roars, Theseus wrestles his foe from behind. The artist connected the heroism of Theseus to that of Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces in World War II. As Lipchitz wrote in his 1972 memoir, “The Minotaur is Hitler and I was thinking about de Gaulle as Theseus . . . I had heard the first speech of de Gaulle from England, in which he said that France had lost a battle but not the war, and it would survive and become victorious.” In May 1940 Lipchitz and his wife fled from Paris before the city was occupied by the German Army. By 1941 they arrived in New York City, where he made this print.

Title Theseus

Artwork Date 1943

Artist Jacques Lipchitz

Life Dates 1891–1973

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French and american

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Etching, liquid-ground aquatint, and engraving printed in black ink on heavy, cream wove paper

Dimensions Plate: 13 7/8 × 11 1/4 inches (35.2 × 28.6 cm) Sheet: 19 1/2 × 15 inches (49.5 × 38.1 cm)

Classification Prints

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Museum Purchase, Lee and Tina Hills Graphic Arts Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2011.36

Markings

Signed Signed, lower right: J Lipchitz

Inscriptions Inscribed, lower left: 5/50

Provenance

2011-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Suggest Feedback

Published References

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Jacques Lipchitz, Theseus, 1943, etching, liquid-ground aquatint, and engraving printed in black ink on heavy, cream wove paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Lee and Tina Hills Graphic Arts Fund, 2011.36.