JEAN LÉBÉDEFF (1884-1972) Jean Lébédeff or Ivan Lebedev: Born in November 1884 in Russia in Bogorodskoye (near Nijni Novgorod). Died in September 1972 in Nîmes. Twentieth century. Active then naturalized in France. Russian. Engraver. Illustrator. Considered one of the most important wood engravers of the 20th century. He moved to Paris in 1909. Student of Cormon at the École des Beaux-Arts. In Montparnasse, he frequented many artists such as Picabia, Maïakovski, Ravel, Pierre Mac Orlan, Éric Satie, Blaise Cendrars, Soutine, Modigliani, André Salmon, but also the workshops of Henri Matisse and Anatole France. In 1923, he became a member of the Oudar group. His workshop is located in Fontenay-aux-Roses. In 1926, he participated in the exhibition “Revolutionary Art of the West” in Moscow. He engraves on wood bookplates and illustrations of books, including “Le Roman de Renard”, “Vie des martyrs”, by G. Duhamel, “Terres de silence” by White, “King Lear” by Shakespeare, “ Popular Tales” by Pushkin, then translations by Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Andreev and Gorky. He collaborates in the press with Clarté, L'Humanité, Le Monde, Regards. Bibliography: I.P. Dubray: L'Imagier, Jean Lebedeff Paris, 1939 - in: Paris Moscow, 1900-1930, exhibition catalog, Center Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1979.