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The Destroyed City

The Destroyed City is a bronze memorial sculpture by Russian-born French artist Ossip Zadkine in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Unveiled in 1953, it commemorates the German bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May 1940, which destroyed the city’s medieval centre. The sculpture shows a stylized human figure leaning against a tree stump, with both hands raised, head thrown back, and a hole in the chest and abdomen symbolizing the loss of the city’s heart. It is Zadkine’s largest and best-known work, and one of Rotterdam’s best known sculptures. The work stands on a granite plinth near the Maritime Museum Rotterdam, was registered as a Rijksmonument in 2010, and has been known by several local nicknames.

The Destroyed City sculpture by Ossip Zadkine in an open plaza, showing a dark figure with raised arms and a jagged void in its torso.
Ossip Zadkine’s The Destroyed City stands on a pedestal in Rotterdam, with its raised arms and broken torso silhouetted against the sky.
July 1956 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Destroyed City bronze sculpture with a hollow chest stands on a pedestal in an urban plaza.
The Destroyed City standing in a city plaza.
© Ary (A.) Groeneveld · CC0
The Destroyed City bronze sculpture with raised arms and a hollow chest against a cloudy blue sky.
The Destroyed City sculpture by Ossip Zadkine, shown with its arms raised against the sky.
April 2014 © · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
The Destroyed City sculpture, with an abstract figure raising its arms and a void through the torso, partially covered by cloth on a stone pedestal.
The Destroyed City sculpture stands partly draped in protective covering before its unveiling.
May 1953 © van Duinen / Anefo · CC0
Boats moored in a harbor with multi-story buildings along the far bank under a cloudy sky.
A harbor scene with moored boats and distant waterfront buildings, shown in a black-and-white photograph of The Destroyed City.
February 1957 © Fototechnische Dienst Rotterdam (Gemeentewerken, Openbare Werken) · CC BY 4.0

Identification

TitleThe Destroyed City
Dutch titleDe verwoeste stad
French titleMonument à la ville détruite de Rotterdam
Alternative titlesLa ville détruite; La ville dévastée; La ville déchirée; The Devastated City; The Torn City; Monument to the Destroyed City of Rotterdam
NicknamesStad zonder hart ('City without a heart'); Zadkini; Jan Gat; Jan met de handjes ('Jan with little hands'); Jan met de jatjes
TypeBronze memorial sculpture
Original titleРазрушенный город

Creator

ArtistOssip Zadkine
Artist backgroundRussian-born French sculptor
Artist lifespan1890–1967

Historical context

PurposeMade in memory of the bombing of Rotterdam and the destruction of the city
Historical effect commemoratedDestruction of Rotterdam's medieval centre
Commemorated eventThe German bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May 1940

Discovery and provenance

Bronze model exhibitionExhibited at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam in December 1949
Production period1951–1953
Casting foundrySusse Frères foundry, Paris
Opponent's descriptionCalled it a 'madly demonic scourge' that would 'paralyze the heart of my city forever'
Opponent of proposalTillema, director of Rotterdam's Department of Public Works
Plinth designerTillema, director of Rotterdam's Department of Public Works
Donation condition disputeThe condition that it remain at the exact location later led to numerous discussions
Donor identityUnknown until 1978
Gift statusPresented to the city as an anonymous gift on condition that Zadkine choose its location and that it remain permanently there
Early terracotta exhibitionsExhibited in Berlin and Prague in 1947
Commission costAbout 24,500 guilders
Commission purposeTo be donated to the municipality of Rotterdam after the Rotterdam De Bijenkorf store had been heavily damaged in the bombing
Commissioned byManagement of the De Bijenkorf department store
Plaster exhibitionsExhibited in Brussels and at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1948
Plaster modelA similar plaster model, about 1.5 m high, made because the terracotta was fragile and unsuitable for transport
Terracotta damageDamaged in transit
Early terracotta modelA 1947 terracotta memorial model, intended as a memorial to the victims of war, about 70 cm high
Friend visitedHendrik Wiegersma, a doctor and painter in Deurne
InspirationProbably inspired in 1946 or 1947 when Zadkine saw the ruined centre of Rotterdam from a train traveling from Paris to Deurne

Physical characteristics

PedestalTapering, conical base about 2 meters high
Body conditionA gaping hole in the chest and abdomen where the heart would be
Figure depictedA stylized human figure leaning against a tree stump with both arms raised and head thrown back as if crying in grief
HeightAbout 6.5 meters
ScaleLife-size

Materials

Main materialBronze
Pedestal materialLabrador granite blocks
Plinth material noteThe stone reportedly had been intended for a sculpture of Adolf Hitler in Berlin

Technique

Artistic influencesRodin and Cubism
Expressive stylePowerful expressive forms designed to be seen from below

Appearance

Pose and gestureThe figure appears to be screaming, leans against a tree stump, raises its arms toward the sky, and throws its head back as if crying in grief

Iconography and meaning

InterpretationA cry of horror against the inhuman brutality of tyranny
ComparisonCompared to the figure with arms raised in terror at the far right of Picasso's Guernica
Artist statementZadkine described the work as 'a cry of horror against human cruelty' and as a personification of the human grief the city had to endure
Symbolism of missing heartSymbolizes the destruction of Rotterdam's centre and the city's lost heart
General symbolismSymbolizes human suffering, despair, discouragement, and resistance to inhuman cruelty

Location and ownership

Unveiled byJacoba van Walsum, wife of Mayor Gerard van Walsum
Listed as cultural heritageIncluded in the list of cultural heritage objects of the Netherlands
Protected status year2010
Protected statusDutch national monument (Rijksmonument), number 530902
OwnershipGift to the city of Rotterdam from the management of De Bijenkorf
Installation cost24,500 guilders
Unveiling date15 May 1953
Original unveiling locationPlein 1940, near Leuvehaven and the Maritiem Museum, Rotterdam
Placed in front ofThe Maritime Museum Rotterdam and the former training ship De Buffel
Returned byMayor Ivo Opstelten
Returned on14 May 2007
Temporary removal in 2005Removed temporarily for construction works and restored while in storage
Moved in 1975Moved about 60 metres before construction of a new metro line
Nearby landmarkBlaakse Bos cube house complex designed by Piet Blom
Current siteOutside the Maritime Museum Rotterdam, opposite the former training ship De Buffel and near the Blaakse Bos cube houses
Original siteNorth side of the basin at the beginning of Leuvehaven in central Rotterdam
LocationPlein 1940, Leuvehaven, Rotterdam, Netherlands

History and restoration

RestorationExtensively restored in 2005 and returned in 2007
Proposed relocationA 2014 proposal to move it outside Rotterdam Centraal station was soon abandoned

Significance

NotabilityZadkine's largest sculpture and best-known work, and one of the best-known sculptures in Rotterdam and the Netherlands
Media mentionIts emotional impact was discussed in the BBC Radio 4 programme Pen Pals in February 2019

Other

Photographic noteA 5 May 1953 photo shows the statue not yet mounted on its pedestal