Xxe Siècle was at once an art journal and a work of art unto itself. Founded in 1938 by the Italian-born writer, art historian, and publisher, Gualtieri di San Lazzaro, the magazine became one of the leading art periodicals of the 20th century with essays by influential contemporary thinkers and most importantly, original lithographs by high-profile artists. San Lazarro had arrived in Paris in 1924 and became deeply involved in the burgeoning Modernist movement, moving in the inner circles of the city’s art scene and developing relationships with important artists of the time. His enthusiasm led to a desire to promote modernism through democratic means and San Lazarro began publishing his periodical as a way for the movement’s art and ideas to reach a wider audience. Over the course of its lifetime, approximately 60 issues of Xxe Siècle were produced, each focusing on a specific theme or artist. Text was provided by figures such as Man Ray, Kurt Seligmann, Joan Miró, Hans Arp, and Georges Duthuit and color lithographs were created specifically for the magazine by Miró, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, and Wassily Kandinsky, among others. The magazine remained in production until the onset of World War II when San Lazarro had to leave Paris, but resumed for a while after his return, then as Nouvelle Series XXe Siècle. Today, the original volumes as well as the stand alone lithographs are highly prized among collectors and the magazine continues to occupy a place of distinction in the canon of modern art publications.
Born in Beijing in 1920, Zao Wou-Ki leveraged both Eastern and Western artistic traditions while training in China. In 1947, he moved to Paris and associated with influential artists such as Alberto Giacometti and Joan Miró. As part of the École de Paris, Zao Wou-Ki emphasized abstraction during the post-war period, but he also worked in a representational mode at times and liked to collaborate across genres, creating theatrical set designs and book illustrations. For American writer Harry Roskolenko’s Paris Poems (1950), Zao Wou-Ki produced six original drawings, including a black cat, and went on to publish various limited print editions. During his career, Zao Wou-Ki was more appreciated in China than the West, but after passing in 2013, a major retrospective at the Asia Society in New York in 2016 helped raise his profile with collectors, leading to much higher auction prices. Today Zao Wou-Ki’s work is held by major institutions worldwide, including the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
