$1,200
The Bat
RICHIER, Germaine
La Chauve-Souris (original French title) Etching and aquatint printed from two plates, in black and in blue ink, on wove Arches paper.Edition of 10...
View full detailsGermaine RICHIER
Germaine Richier was one of the most important French sculptors of the postwar period. Born in Grans, France, in 1902, she studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier before moving to Paris, where she worked in the studio of Antoine Bourdelle from 1926 until his death in 1929. During World War II, while living in Zurich, she became part of the artistic circle that included Alberto Giacometti, Jean Arp, and Marino Marini.
Richier began with close observation of the human figure but gradually transformed it into a highly original sculptural language. Works such as The Praying Mantis, The Spider, and The Bat evoke a world where humanity and nature are both vulnerable and threatening, and always inseparably intertwined.
Although printmaking and drawing were not central to her practice, Richier used both to explore her hybrid imagery, merging human anatomy with insects, animals, trees, and other organic forms. These works share the powerful psychological intensity of her sculpture.
Her career was brief but influential. Richier’s distinctive vision helped shape postwar figuration, confronting corporeal fragility, transformation, and survival. She died in Montpellier in 1959.