Richier, Germaine

Richier, Germaine

(rēshyā`), 1904–59, French sculptor. She studied with Bourdelle (1925–29) and after 1940 developed a tortured awareness expressed in powerful, distorted figures. Richier's works embody a brittle tension between mass and surface that influenced numerous younger sculptors. Don Quichotte de la Forêt (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis) is characteristic of her macabre, surreal images.