This 9-metre bronze sculpture was created in 1972 for the benefit of Place Ikerbukuro in Tokyo. La Terre was duplicated and installed at La Défense in 1978. The two figures, here in resin, recall the movement of the globe, evoking the power of life, a theme dear to the artist.

Born in 1925 in Montenay, Mayenne, Louis Derbré spent his youth working the land on the family farm. When he moved to Paris, he worked as a laborer for an art publishing house, then attended a sculpture workshop where he learned the art of sculpture. His roots in the land predisposed him to work with his instinct as his only compass, without academic influence or other schools of thought.

From the simple portraits of his beginnings to the bestiary, he became interested in bodies. From earth to stone, from oak beams to granite and marble, Derbré has worked with all materials, casting his works in bronze himself.