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It is a difficult task for me to write an introduction to my own exhibition. What do I really know about my work. [[strikethrough]] I can only witness that [[/strikethrough]] I am the first one to be astonished of what comes out from me  

The only thing I can do is, being more familiar than anyone else with my sculpture, is, [[strikethrough]] making my sculpture now for 50 years I can [[/strikethrough]] visualize maybe more clearly [[strikethrough]] on how it went [[/strikethrough]] my development; and about that I can say a few words. 

I started like every one of my generation by a severe academic training. Little by little I felt the necessity to bring more evident ordre [[order]] of what nature showed me and which seemed to me too Catholic X [[X=insert mark]] and I started to abstract, that is to say to take away what seemed to me inutil until I came to such a nakednesse that I [[strikethrough]] started to [[/strikethrough]] felt an abisse under my feet and if I would continue, [[strikethrough]] I felt [[/strikethrough]] I would come to notingness - a dead end. You will find trace of this evolution in my work going from 1913 to 1916. A very profound crisis came over me at that time from which I emerged a new man. It is not anymore from [[strikethrough]] the aspect of nature[[/strikethrough]] life to crystalin forms that

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X [[insert mark]] of course I could see only with my youtful [[youthful]] and unexperienced [[strikethorugh]]years of sculpture around me [[/strikethrough]] life around me.

eyes

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Transcription Notes:
Note the word "inutil" - I think this is what is written (French for "useless") --> there are several french words or "frenchified" English words which I did not correct in brackets