About

It is with great pleasure that we exhibit The Ant (1953), by the French sculptor Germaine Richier, for the first time. Richier (1902-1959) was a pioneering female sculptor in the post-World War II era, and critical reappraisal of her work has been rapidly progressing in recent years.

Richier studied under Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, who had been an assistant of Auguste Rodin, and while she can be considered a legitimate modern inheritor of classical sculpture techniques, she also drew acclaim for an original style that organically fused the human figure with imagery from the natural world, such as animals and plants. Unfortunately, she was stricken by illness at the height of her career.

This exhibition reflects the era when she lived and worked, showcasing sculptors who studied with Bourdelle around the same time as Richier before the war, postwar Japanese sculptors who were influenced by Richier, and the relationship between art and postwar devastation. Another touchstone of the exhibit is form, with themes such as the hybridization of humans and animals or plants, women gazing upward, and the skins and skeletons of sculptures. We invite you to enjoy the richness of Richier’s sculptural expression, and its range of thematic connections extending in multiple directions.

List of Works

Hours & Admissions

Location

Art Museum Gallery 4

Date

January 23–April 7, 2024

Closed

Mondays (except February 12, March 25), February 13

Time

10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (Fridays and Saturdays open until 8:00 p.m.)

• Last admission : 30 minutes before closing.

Admission

Adults ¥500 (¥400)
College and university students ¥250 (¥200)

• The price in brackets is for the group of 20 persons or more. All prices include tax.
• Free for high school students, under 18, seniors (65 and over), Campus Members, MOMAT passport holders.
• Show your Membership Card of the MOMAT Supporters or the MOMAT Members to get free admission (a MOMAT Members Card admits two persons free).
• Persons with disability and one person accompanying them are admitted free of charge.
• Members of the MOMAT Corporate Partners are admitted free with their staff ID.
• Including the admission fee for MOMAT Collection (4-2F).

Discounts

Evening Discount (From 5:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays)
Adults ¥300
College and university students ¥150

Organaized by

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo