Le grand homme de la nuit 1955

Germaine Richier’s 'Le grand homme de la nuit' is a bronze sculpture, and it feels like an encounter with something elemental, or mythological. Richier has built up the surface with a rough, additive process. See how the light catches on the craggy texture, almost like the bark of a tree? The bronze is a deep, dark color, like earth or old metal, and the wings look like they're made from beaten metal. The torso is marked with deep furrows, like the sculpture has been weathered by time. The whole thing reminds me of the work of Henry Moore, where the human form is distilled into something more abstract and universal. But unlike Moore, Richier isn't afraid to make her figures a little monstrous, a little bit grotesque, or maybe just a little bit otherworldly. Art is like a conversation, right? Each artist building on what came before, but always with their own unique voice.