The designer of the iconic statue of Cristo Redentor towering over Rio de Janerio was the French-born sculptor of Polish origin, Paul Landowski.

Paul Landowski was born on 1 June 1875 in Paris as the youngest child of six offspring of Edward Landowski and Julie Vieuxtemps. His father, a January insurgent, emigrated to France after the collapse of the national uprising. His mother was the daughter of Henri Vieuxtemps, a Belgian violinist and composer. At the age of five, Paul briefly lost his sight. During his illness, he developed a childhood passion and enjoyed making figurines out of bread. Two years later, he lost both his parents. Little Paul was taken care of by his uncle Paweł Landowski, an émigré from Poland, a doctor of gynaecology living in Paris, who had a tumultuous uprising resume.

Paul Landowski' s artistic career
Paul Landowski grew up in a home steeped in the Polish freedom tradition. His interests in adolescence were directed towards literature and philosophy - he read the works of Aeschylus, Shakespeare and Flaubert. In 1893, he enrolled at the Académie Julian, a Parisian private school for sculpture and painting (he was a lecturer there in 1913). In 1895, he was admitted to an art college, the École nationale et spéciale des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where the famous French sculptor Louis-Ernest Barrias took him under his wing.

Landowski's talent was quickly recognised. He was 25 years old when he was awarded the 'Prix de Rome' for his sculpture 'David fighting Goliath'. With the award came a prestigious scholarship in Rome and study at the French Academy there. After spending several years in Italy, in 1906 he settled in Boulogne-Billancourt, a town that was part of the Paris metropolis. In the same year, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour.

The First World War left its mark on him - he was awarded the French War Cross 1914-1918 for his participation in the Battle of the Somme. He recalled his stay at the front as a nightmare. As early as 1916, he planned to build a monumental memorial to the fate of the soldiers; he described his intention in his diary with the words: "I will resurrect them".

After the end of the war, in 1919, he took part in a state competition for a monument commemorating the Battle of the Marne. The monumental mausoleum was designed by Landowski: "Les Fantômes" ("The Phantoms"), located in the Butte de Chalmont, between Paris and Reims, was unveiled by French President Albert Lebrun on 27 February 1935.

Paul Landowski's fame was assured by his subsequent works: "Sons of Cain", "For Artists Whose Names Have Been Lost", the monument "Monument to the Reformation in Geneva", which was under construction for eight years, or the sarcophagus of Marshal Foch, which can still be admired in the Church of the Invalides in Paris.

The final years of the artist's life
Between 1933 and 1937, the artist returned to Rome, where he served as director of the French Academy. He then became rector of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Paris.

Paul Landowski died on 31 March 1961 at his home in Boulogne-Billancourt. The building now houses a museum, run by the local government, dedicated to the artist. He left behind numerous sculptures and statues, paintings and diaries which he kept from 1902 to 1959, some of which have been published.

Monument to Christ the Redeemer in Rio - Paul Landowski's life 's work
Landowski's best-known work remains the massive Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. The statue was supposed to be built in 1922 for the centenary of Brazil's independence. Construction of the statue was delayed for financial and procedural reasons. Eventually Landowski designed the statue and created a four-metre-high plaster model of the monument. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida carved the statue's face, and Landowski was responsible for the characteristically outspread arms. The construction was supervised by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot. The statue was created in France over a period of nine years, from where it was transported by ship to Rio in 1931, with a ceremonial unveiling on 12 October of that year.

The art déco style statue is made of reinforced concrete and a rare rock called soapstone. It is 30 metres high and sits on an 8-metre high plinth, making it the fifth largest statue in the world. The arms extend 28 metres wide. The final form of the statue differs significantly from the original design, which envisaged Christ with a globe in one hand and a cross in the other.

The statue weighs 635 tonnes and sits on top of the 704-metre-high Corcovado Mountain in Tijuca National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. A worldwide symbol of Christianity, it has also become a cultural icon throughout Latin America and is considered one of the new seven wonders of the world. Every year, two million tourists climb or drive up Corcovado Mountain. It remains ironic that Landowski never visited Rio de Janeiro and saw the completed monument with his own eyes.