VICTOR SERVRANCKX
Sculptural Legacy and Iconic Works
“Opus 1” (1921) by Victor Servranckx is rightly considered as a key work in the evolution of European abstract sculpture. A visionary response to the trauma of World War I, the piece blends avant-garde forms with symbolic themes of femininity, motherhood and spatial abstraction. This page explores its symbolism, material forms, exhibition history and the unique version currently available at Group2 Gallery Brussels.
Read more below about the origins, symbolism, and significance of “Opus 1.”
Read more below about the origins, symbolism, and significance of “Opus 1.”
Victor Servranckx (1897-1965) and his iconic sculpture "Opus 1 1921 - Femininity - Motherhood - Birth"
"Expression de plénitude dans la tendresse. Compénétration d'espace négatif dans le temps, quatrième dimension.
Compénétration d'espace et de durée. Totalisation d'espace-durée" - Victor Servranckx
"Expression de plénitude dans la tendresse. Compénétration d'espace négatif dans le temps, quatrième dimension.
Compénétration d'espace et de durée. Totalisation d'espace-durée" - Victor Servranckx
Invitation card featuring his sculpture "Opus 1 1921" for his first solo exhibition at Galerie Royale, Brussels 1924.
Group exhibition "Cubism" with Baumeister, Braque, Gris, Klee, Léger, Lipchitz, Metzinger, Picasso, Servranckx, Zadkine
at Galerie La Boétie, Brussels 1946.
at Galerie La Boétie, Brussels 1946.
Excerpt from "Von Material zu Architektur" by L. Moholy-Nagy, Bauhaus Bücher, Walter Gropius, Munich 1929
László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) was a famous hungarian painter-sculptor who taught at the Bauhaus school in Weimar in the 1920's and who founded in 1939 the "New Bauhaus" in Chicago, nowadays the School of Design. In 1939 Servranckx traveled to Mexico, Cuba and the US where he met Moholy-Nagy. He received an offer to teach at the "New Bauhaus" which he declined.
László Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946) was a famous hungarian painter-sculptor who taught at the Bauhaus school in Weimar in the 1920's and who founded in 1939 the "New Bauhaus" in Chicago, nowadays the School of Design. In 1939 Servranckx traveled to Mexico, Cuba and the US where he met Moholy-Nagy. He received an offer to teach at the "New Bauhaus" which he declined.
"Opus 1" 1921, painted plaster, 41 x 37 cm x 37 cm
Collection of the Fine Arts museum of Ghent, Belgium
Collection of the Fine Arts museum of Ghent, Belgium
"Opus 1 1921", white plaster
Collection of the Grenoble museum, France
In 1927 the Grenoble museum organized an exhibition about belgian modern art with a.o. works by Servranckx.
"Opus 1 se présente comme une sphère amputée du quart de son volume s'ouvrant en une forme ovoïde qui dévoile à son tour deux demi-sphères ; une en volume et une en creux. Une tension spatiale s'exerce entre le plein et le vide, entre le positif et le négatif. Ces rapports d'opposition ont aussi une portée symbolique en lien avec les oeuvres antérieures de l'artiste. Le volume plein, pôle masculin, fusionne avec le volume en creux, pôle féminin, pour donner la vie, incarnée dans ce qui s'apparente à un oeuf. Cette image de la naissance évoque également celle du mouvement au sein d'une oeuvre en trois dimensions". Source : Musée de Grenoble
Collection of the Grenoble museum, France
In 1927 the Grenoble museum organized an exhibition about belgian modern art with a.o. works by Servranckx.
"Opus 1 se présente comme une sphère amputée du quart de son volume s'ouvrant en une forme ovoïde qui dévoile à son tour deux demi-sphères ; une en volume et une en creux. Une tension spatiale s'exerce entre le plein et le vide, entre le positif et le négatif. Ces rapports d'opposition ont aussi une portée symbolique en lien avec les oeuvres antérieures de l'artiste. Le volume plein, pôle masculin, fusionne avec le volume en creux, pôle féminin, pour donner la vie, incarnée dans ce qui s'apparente à un oeuf. Cette image de la naissance évoque également celle du mouvement au sein d'une oeuvre en trois dimensions". Source : Musée de Grenoble
"Opus 1" 1921, bronze casting
Acquired in 1961 by the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna
Acquired in 1961 by the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna
"Opus 1 1921 - Femininity - Motherhood - Birth", onyx marble, 41 x 37 x 27 cm.
Unique piece. - Signed Servranckx and dated 1921 on the base at the left.
This exceptional version of Opus 1 is carved in onyx marble and represents one of the most significant early abstract sculptures in European art. Signed by the artist and dated 1921 on the base, it is the only known onyx edition of this historic work—a rare opportunity for collectors and institutions alike.
Availability:
This unique piece is currently available for acquisition.
📞 Contact us at +0032 2 539.23.09
📧 Or email: [email protected]
Litterature :
"7 Arts" magazine no 8, 1923; Cover of the "Nova Generazia" magazine, Kiev, november 1928;
László Moholy-Nagy, "Von Material zu Architektur", Munich 1929
S. Goyens de Heusch, 7 Arts Brussels 1922-1939. Illustration of the onyx marble.
Exhibitions
Galerie Apollo Brussels 1946, exhibition Herbin-Servranckx,
Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Servranckx retrospective, 1947, Illustration in the catalogue with foreword by Léonce Rosenberg;
Galerie Georges Giroux, Brussels, "L'art vivant dans les collections privées belges";
Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Salon d'Automne 1948,
Galerie Les Contemporains Brussels, 1957, illustration in the catalogue,
Ixelles Museum Brussels, 1965, Servranckx retrospective, no 40, ill. in the catalogue,
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels 1989 "Servranckx and abstract art", no 24, illustration in the catalogue.
Générale de Banque, Brussels 1990, "la sculpture en Belgique de Constantin Meunier à nos jours"
The artist commented this iconic sculpture as follows :
"Expression de plénitude dans la tendresse. Compénétration d'espace négatif dans le temps, quatrième dimension. Compénétration d'espace et de durée. Totalisation d'espace durée. Cette sculpture, posée sur un socle pivotant, auquel est donné un mouvement de rotation, produit à tout moment et à toute face la même impression d'ensemble : les volumes devant accrocher le regard, étant répartis selon un rythmique fondée sur le éléments de durée de la quatrième dimension, en même temps que sur les valeurs réciproques de volume-matière (positif) et de volume-espace (négatif) : plein et vide autour". - Victor Servranckx
Unique piece. - Signed Servranckx and dated 1921 on the base at the left.
This exceptional version of Opus 1 is carved in onyx marble and represents one of the most significant early abstract sculptures in European art. Signed by the artist and dated 1921 on the base, it is the only known onyx edition of this historic work—a rare opportunity for collectors and institutions alike.
Availability:
This unique piece is currently available for acquisition.
📞 Contact us at +0032 2 539.23.09
📧 Or email: [email protected]
Litterature :
"7 Arts" magazine no 8, 1923; Cover of the "Nova Generazia" magazine, Kiev, november 1928;
László Moholy-Nagy, "Von Material zu Architektur", Munich 1929
S. Goyens de Heusch, 7 Arts Brussels 1922-1939. Illustration of the onyx marble.
Exhibitions
Galerie Apollo Brussels 1946, exhibition Herbin-Servranckx,
Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, Servranckx retrospective, 1947, Illustration in the catalogue with foreword by Léonce Rosenberg;
Galerie Georges Giroux, Brussels, "L'art vivant dans les collections privées belges";
Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Salon d'Automne 1948,
Galerie Les Contemporains Brussels, 1957, illustration in the catalogue,
Ixelles Museum Brussels, 1965, Servranckx retrospective, no 40, ill. in the catalogue,
Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels 1989 "Servranckx and abstract art", no 24, illustration in the catalogue.
Générale de Banque, Brussels 1990, "la sculpture en Belgique de Constantin Meunier à nos jours"
The artist commented this iconic sculpture as follows :
"Expression de plénitude dans la tendresse. Compénétration d'espace négatif dans le temps, quatrième dimension. Compénétration d'espace et de durée. Totalisation d'espace durée. Cette sculpture, posée sur un socle pivotant, auquel est donné un mouvement de rotation, produit à tout moment et à toute face la même impression d'ensemble : les volumes devant accrocher le regard, étant répartis selon un rythmique fondée sur le éléments de durée de la quatrième dimension, en même temps que sur les valeurs réciproques de volume-matière (positif) et de volume-espace (négatif) : plein et vide autour". - Victor Servranckx
From 1922 to 1925 Servranckx corresponded with Filippo Marinetti, the "Pope" of Futurism. Marinetti wrote about his visit to the exhibition "Seconda Mostra Internazionale delle Arti Decorative" (1925) in Monza, where he above all enjoyed the sculpture Opus 1 1921..
Catalogue of the Servranckx exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, 1947
Preface by Léonce Rosenberg
Preface by Léonce Rosenberg
Exhibition at Galerie des Contemporains, Brussels 1957. The onyx marble sculpture is at the far right.
Exhibition at the Bruges Concert Hall, 1958
"Opus 47 1923 - exaltation of machinery", oil on canvas, 113 x 210,5, is rightly considered as Servranckx's masterpiece.
Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels.
The ovoïd form of "Opus 1 1921" appears twice in this monumental painting.
Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels.
The ovoïd form of "Opus 1 1921" appears twice in this monumental painting.
Léonce Rosenberg (1879-1947) admiring "Opus 47 1923" at Galerie Apollo in Brussels, october 1946 (Exhibition Herbin-Servranckx)
in 1918 Servranckx showed his work at Rosenberg's gallery “L'Effort Moderne” in Paris, where he met a.o. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti,
Theo van Doesburg, Fernand Léger and Marcel Duchamp.
Due to his acquaintance with Duchamp, Servranckx particpated in the "International Exhibition of Modern art" organized in 1926/27 by the "Société Anonyme" (Katherine Dreier) in the Brooklyn museum, NY and in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Canada.
in 1918 Servranckx showed his work at Rosenberg's gallery “L'Effort Moderne” in Paris, where he met a.o. Filippo Tommaso Marinetti,
Theo van Doesburg, Fernand Léger and Marcel Duchamp.
Due to his acquaintance with Duchamp, Servranckx particpated in the "International Exhibition of Modern art" organized in 1926/27 by the "Société Anonyme" (Katherine Dreier) in the Brooklyn museum, NY and in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Canada.
"Opus 53 1923", oil on canvas, 92 x 70 cm
Collection of the Ixelles museum, Brussels
Dans un dégradé entre gris et rouge, plusieurs cercles, entiers ou demi coupés, entrent en collision. On pourrait y voir la palette d’un peintre, ou des planètes agglomérées avec leurs satellites. La peinture évoque aussi les représentations de machines, telles que peintes par Fernand Léger. «Les lois géométriques, c’est ce qui relie les hommes, c’est la plate-forme où tous les hommes peuvent se rencontrer; c’est un terrain d’entente pour un art collectif possible. La forme géométrique exclut l’individualisme particulariste». Victor Servranckx
Source : Ixelles museum, Belgium
Collection of the Ixelles museum, Brussels
Dans un dégradé entre gris et rouge, plusieurs cercles, entiers ou demi coupés, entrent en collision. On pourrait y voir la palette d’un peintre, ou des planètes agglomérées avec leurs satellites. La peinture évoque aussi les représentations de machines, telles que peintes par Fernand Léger. «Les lois géométriques, c’est ce qui relie les hommes, c’est la plate-forme où tous les hommes peuvent se rencontrer; c’est un terrain d’entente pour un art collectif possible. La forme géométrique exclut l’individualisme particulariste». Victor Servranckx
Source : Ixelles museum, Belgium
"Opus 1 1924 (torso of an elegant young woman)"
Wood and painted metal, height 82,8 cm
Sold at Christie's Paris for 264.600 Euro premium included in october 2024
Wood and painted metal, height 82,8 cm
Sold at Christie's Paris for 264.600 Euro premium included in october 2024
Introduction to “Opus 1” (1921)
“Opus 1” (1921) is the first purely abstract sculpture by Belgian artist Victor Servranckx and a key work in the evolution of modernist sculpture in Europe. Created a few years after the end of World War I, the piece results from a deep desire to rebuild form and meaning of an artwork through pure abstraction. It was Servranckx's response to the disillusionment of war, merging philosophical inquiry with a radically new sculptural language.
This work marked a decisive break with figurative tradition, incorporating influences from Cubism, Constructivism, and early avant-garde movements. Servranckx rejected ornament and realism in favor of pure form, rhythm and spatial dynamism. “Opus 1” is not only an artwork—it is a statement about the future of art, one that would resonate through his later work and the broader modernist movement.
This work marked a decisive break with figurative tradition, incorporating influences from Cubism, Constructivism, and early avant-garde movements. Servranckx rejected ornament and realism in favor of pure form, rhythm and spatial dynamism. “Opus 1” is not only an artwork—it is a statement about the future of art, one that would resonate through his later work and the broader modernist movement.
Artistic Symbolism and Interpretation
At the heart of “Opus 1” lies a rich symbolic narrative centered on femininity, motherhood, and the act of creation. The sculpture’s ovoid and spherical shapes refer to the womb and the egg—archetypal symbols of birth and origin. Through the interplay of solid and hollow forms, Servranckx creates a dialogue between the feminine and the masculine, with the full volume representing masculine energy and the concave space embodying the feminine principle.
More than a static object, the sculpture suggests movement. Originally mounted on a rotating base, “Opus 1” offers a different perspective from every angle, making the act of viewing a part of its conceptual framework. Servranckx described this as a way to visualize the fourth dimension : time. As the viewer orbits the sculpture, spatial and temporal relationships unfold, reinforcing its themes of transformation, duality and continuity.
More than a static object, the sculpture suggests movement. Originally mounted on a rotating base, “Opus 1” offers a different perspective from every angle, making the act of viewing a part of its conceptual framework. Servranckx described this as a way to visualize the fourth dimension : time. As the viewer orbits the sculpture, spatial and temporal relationships unfold, reinforcing its themes of transformation, duality and continuity.
Different Versions of "Opus 1"
Several versions of “Opus 1” have been created or reproduced in various materials, each offering a distinct experience of the work. A painted plaster version is housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium, while a white plaster edition features in the Grenoble Museum collection in France. In 1961, a bronze cast was acquired by the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna, adding a sense of permanence and weight to the otherwise fluid form.
The most striking version, however, is a unique piece in onyx marble, measuring 41 x 37 x 27 cm, signed and dated by Servranckx in 1921. This version introduces a new level of tactile depth and luxurious texture, reinforcing the sensual and organic themes of the sculpture. The onyx marble version is currently available at Group2 Gallery in Brussels, offering collectors and institutions a rare opportunity to acquire one of the 20th century’s most significant abstract sculptures.
The most striking version, however, is a unique piece in onyx marble, measuring 41 x 37 x 27 cm, signed and dated by Servranckx in 1921. This version introduces a new level of tactile depth and luxurious texture, reinforcing the sensual and organic themes of the sculpture. The onyx marble version is currently available at Group2 Gallery in Brussels, offering collectors and institutions a rare opportunity to acquire one of the 20th century’s most significant abstract sculptures.
"Opus 1” in Exhibitions and Literature
“Opus 1” has been widely exhibited and referenced throughout the history of modern art. It featured in Servranckx’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Royale in Brussels in 1924 and appeared again in the landmark 1946 group exhibition on Cubism at Galerie La Boétie in Brussels. The sculpture was also exhibited in major retrospectives, including the 1947 Palais des Beaux-Arts show in Brussels and the 1965 exhibition at the Ixelles Museum, affirming its enduring relevance in the Belgian and European art scenes.
The sculpture has been documented in numerous influential publications. It appeared in the 1923 issue of 7 Arts magazine and on the cover of Nova Generazia in Kiev in 1928. Most notably, it was referenced in László Moholy-Nagy’s 1929 Bauhaus book "Von Material zu Architektur", situating Servranckx’s work within the international discourse on modernist art and design. These literary citations provide a scholarly foundation enhancing the historical and intellectual importance of “Opus 1.”
The sculpture has been documented in numerous influential publications. It appeared in the 1923 issue of 7 Arts magazine and on the cover of Nova Generazia in Kiev in 1928. Most notably, it was referenced in László Moholy-Nagy’s 1929 Bauhaus book "Von Material zu Architektur", situating Servranckx’s work within the international discourse on modernist art and design. These literary citations provide a scholarly foundation enhancing the historical and intellectual importance of “Opus 1.”
Servranckx and the Bauhaus / Futurist Connection
Victor Servranckx was not an isolated figure in the Belgian art world—he was deeply embedded in the international avant-garde. His work was admired by László Moholy-Nagy, one of the most influential Bauhaus figures, who invited Servranckx to teach at the New Bauhaus in Chicago in 1939. Though Servranckx declined, the offer itself reveals the esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries. Their shared interest in the fusion of technology, geometry and art theory can be clearly seen in “Opus 1.”
Servranckx also corresponded with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founding father of Futurism. Marinetti praised “Opus 1” during the 1925 Monza exhibition, recognizing in it a sculptural embodiment of Futurist principles--energy, birth, transformation. The artist’s network included other pioneers such as Fernand Léger and Theo van Doesburg and his work was included in the “International Exhibition of Modern Art” organized by the Société Anonyme in 1926–1927. Société Anonyme was an art institution founded in 1920 by american artist and collector Katherine Dreier, Man Ray & Marcel Duchamp. These connections highlight Servranckx’s position as a key contributor to early modernism.
Servranckx also corresponded with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founding father of Futurism. Marinetti praised “Opus 1” during the 1925 Monza exhibition, recognizing in it a sculptural embodiment of Futurist principles--energy, birth, transformation. The artist’s network included other pioneers such as Fernand Léger and Theo van Doesburg and his work was included in the “International Exhibition of Modern Art” organized by the Société Anonyme in 1926–1927. Société Anonyme was an art institution founded in 1920 by american artist and collector Katherine Dreier, Man Ray & Marcel Duchamp. These connections highlight Servranckx’s position as a key contributor to early modernism.
