French citizen Germaine Richier witnessed the ravages of World War II firsthand and translated the brutality of the war into her sculptures. She became known for her unique emaciated and highly textured figures, which she saw as original and independent beings. For Richier, the figures in her sculptures were metaphorical rather than representational. Of particular note is the extraordinary treatment of this sculpture’s surface: highly textured, even devastated by the artist’s hands and tools.