Paul Landowski, sculptor of Christ the Redeemer, draws the Divine once more
In a rare annotated book, Paul Landowski - sculptor of Brazil’s most iconic symbol - sketches an angel wrestling a man, echoing the biblical struggle of Jacob and revealing his lasting obsession with the divine in art.
At the summit of Corcovado, the 710-meter-high rocky peak overlooking Rio de Janeiro’s bay, stands one of Brazil’s most iconic symbols: the statue of Christ the Redeemer. This 30-meter-tall colossus with outstretched arms was inaugurated in 1931, after ten years of planning and execution. The project was originally driven by a desire among Brazilian Catholic elites to assert their faith in the public space. But it was in France that Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa chose to seek a sculptor capable of giving shape to that ambition. He selected Paul Landowski, already internationally renowned for monuments that combined symbolic power with classical harmony.
Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and a former collaborator of Rodin, Landowski was a deeply devout artist. His faith infused a body of work filled with religious figures, Christ, saints, and above all, angels, which he saw as messengers of hope and peace. For Landowski, drawing an angel was a way of capturing the divine presence in human life, a quiet but constant source of protection. When Heitor da Silva Costa approached him, Landowski’s passion for spiritual and monumental themes found its perfect match. He created the Christ models in Paris, while the soapstone blocks were carved and assembled in Brazil. The result was a work of dual authorship, blending Brazilian engineering precision with European artistic sensitivity.
One of his most personal books, printed in only 200 copies, resurfaced in France a few years ago. It is a 250-page reflection on the teaching of art, annotated in his own hand. What immediately stands out is a drawing on the second page: a sudden, almost impulsive sketch depicting an angel wrestling with a man. The image recalls the biblical episode of Jacob wrestling with the angel, a universal symbol of inner struggle, tested faith, and the search for meaning. Why Landowski made this drawing is unclear, perhaps a dedication to an admiring student, or simply another moment of inspiration, born from the same creative spark that gave rise to one of the world’s most iconic monuments.
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