Terracotta sculptuur van een buste van een vrouw met diadeem before 1857

Curator: This piece whispers stories of ancient grandeur, doesn’t it? This terracotta sculpture, made before 1857 by Marcel Gustave Laverdet, depicts the bust of a woman, possibly a deity, adorned with a diadem. Editor: Yes, she has this captivating solemnity…a timeless stillness about her. It's hard to know her emotions, though. What do you see in the form itself? Curator: It’s the balance Laverdet strikes, between realism and idealization. Her drapery cascades with a graceful flow and a sort of gentle rigidity, and even her serene face, though damaged through the years, manages to appear deeply sensitive. Editor: It is fascinating how the medium affects our perception. The terracotta brings an earthiness to a figure that could otherwise be quite ethereal. I am wondering why the material chosen, if we think of what else was used during that period. Curator: Precisely. Though listed as marble, the actual use of terracotta feels like a conscious move. Perhaps a desire to make classical ideals accessible. Maybe to say: beauty is of the earth. Look how even cracks give the statue this specific visual texture that is also pleasant. Editor: Absolutely. Those cracks, that imperfection, makes her feel real, rather than simply a detached ideal. What message would we say she projects? Curator: I think this work makes us to contemplate, as artists, viewers and critics, the relationship between past and present, how the classical aesthetic has had a continuous appeal, as much today as before 1857 when this piece was born. And even a more contemporary spin with that unusual texture and earthiness. Editor: I agree. Its presence feels oddly urgent. Well, thanks for unveiling the nuances of this wonderful sculpture, and it's enigmatic aura, too.