Germaine Richier supported the Shepherd of the Landes a 1951 sculpture at the Tate Modern gallery in London. This peculiar demon bird would be representative of an extreme emotional state of the artist. Fame does not always breed friendly demons. Germaine Richier contributed an incredible selection of works in her short life here. This piece would have been made shortly before her death. Unfortunately the poor emotionally tortured French goddess also was dying of an aggressive cancer. This must feel like you are disintegrating and the flesh is rotting away like a vegetable. The air you breathe takes you to God and God protect her. All Richier's sculptures represent this extreme of divine fragility. They take you to the depth of humanity and when they placed her in the tomb, like the death of the Virgin Mary. The shepherd of the Landes would have to value the marshland ahead and would have used poles to judge the depth of the bog.
