Petite Fille des Landes 1904

Charles Despiau's 'Petite Fille des Landes' is a head, likely cast in bronze, and it feels like an exercise in tonal variation. The surface is really alive, isn't it? Look at the slight variations in tone on the girl's face, from the shadow under her chin to the highlight on her cheekbone. This kind of sensitivity to surface is what gives the work so much life. You can almost feel Despiau’s hands working the clay, pushing and pulling, adding and subtracting. Notice the planes of the face and the way the planes catch the light. It's interesting how Despiau captures the ephemeral quality of light and shadow, but then fixes it in something as solid and lasting as bronze. Maybe Medardo Rosso might be a good point of comparison for this, given his interest in the transience of light on sculpted surfaces. In any case, it's this tension between the fleeting and the permanent that makes the piece so compelling.