BK-18780

About this artwork

Schenking van de heer E. Lacomblé

Art Historical Context

This clay sculpture, catalogued as-18780, was created by Eugène Lacomblé in 1877. Standing just under 39 centimeters tall, the compact work demonstrates the intimate scale often favored for clay pieces, which allowed artists to explore form and detail with relative ease before committing to more permanent materials like bronze or marble. Lacomblé’s choice of clay reflects a longstanding tradition in European sculpture studios of the nineteenth century, where the medium served both as a practical modeling tool and a finished artwork in its own right. The warm, earthy texture of fired clay invites close viewing, revealing subtle surface modeling that would have been achieved through hand-building and carving techniques typical of the period. The piece entered the collection as a gift from the artist himself, underscoring the personal ties between creators and museums in the late 1800s. Such donations often preserved an artist’s exploratory works for future generations, offering visitors a tangible connection to the creative process of the era.

About the Artist

Eugène Lacomblé · 1828–1905

Eugène Lacomblé (1828–1905) was a versatile Belgian artist who worked primarily as a sculptor but also practiced painting, watercolor, drawing, and etching, embodying the nineteenth-century ideal of the multi-talented artist-craftsman. Born in Brussels and dying in Arnhem, Lacomblé's career spanned the second half of the nineteenth century, a period of significant artistic and social change in Eur...