Les premiers pas c. 1828 - 1905

Eugène Lacomblé created this sculpture, "Les premiers pas," from terracotta. The sculpture captures a tender scene of a mother guiding her child’s first steps, rendered in a muted, earthy tone. The rough texture of the terracotta adds a tactile quality, emphasizing the human touch in its creation. The composition is built around a vertical axis, with the mother's figure providing a stable backdrop for the child's unsteady movements. Lacomblé uses the classical trope of the mother and child, but imbues it with a formal simplicity that speaks to broader themes of support and guidance. Consider how the semiotics of the ‘first step’—a universal signifier of growth and development—is grounded in this formal arrangement. The sculpture’s simplicity and material honesty invite us to contemplate not just the artwork's aesthetic qualities, but also its role in reflecting and shaping our understanding of human development. This piece encourages an ongoing dialogue between form and meaning.