Who is Christian Boltanski?

Christian Boltanski (born 1944) is a French sculptor, photographer, painter and film maker, most well known for his photography installations and contemporary French Conceptual style.

Who was Étienne Boltanski?

Boltanski was born in Paris on 6 September 1944. His father, Étienne Alexandre Boltanski, a physician, was Jewish and had come to France from Russia, while Marie-Elise Ilari-Guérin, his Roman Catholic mother originated from Corsica, descended from Ukrainian Jews. His Jewish heritage was a large influence in Boltanski's household.

How did Boltanski's Jewish heritage influence his character?

His Jewish heritage was a large influence in Boltanski's household. During World War II, while living in Paris, his father escaped deportation by hiding in a space under the floorboards of the family apartment for a year and a half. Christian grew up with this knowledge, and his early experiences with wartime affairs deeply affected him.

Does Boltanski have a spectre of death?

Indeed, the spectre of death loomed over Boltanski who once stated that making art was his only means of staying alive; a "thing to do so that I don't die", as he put it. Boltanski's work is autobiographical, but the stories he tells deliberately overlap with fiction.