Twee terracotta sculpturen van Europa die wordt opgetild door een stier en een Amazone before 1857

These terracotta sculptures of Europa being lifted by a bull and an Amazon were created by Marcel Gustave Laverdet. Terracotta, meaning "baked earth", is a humble material, yet capable of great expression. Here, the artist models the clay with an attention to classical form, giving the surface a textured, almost crumbling quality. It's a direct, hands-on process, very different from carving marble or casting bronze. The choice of terracotta suggests a different approach to sculpture – one that emphasizes the artist's touch. There's a certain immediacy and intimacy to it, a sense of the artist working directly with the earth. The social context of this choice is interesting. Laverdet may have been consciously setting himself apart from the grand traditions of academic sculpture, instead embracing a more vernacular, craft-oriented approach. Ultimately, these sculptures remind us that the value of art lies not just in its subject matter, but also in the way it's made, and the materials it's made from.