Nature Unveiling Herself to Science

Louis-Ernest Barrias made several different versions of this sculpture in various materials and sizes, sometimes incorporating precious stones to create rich, exotic contrasts in texture and color. The original commission, in white marble, was a sculpture for the new medical school in Bordeaux. Barrias then carved another monumental version using onyx and red marble for a polychrome effect. The notion of nature "unveiling" herself to science seems to express the rich potential but also the mysterious limits of scientific methods for explaining natural phenomena.