Girl with Shell in Warandepark, Brussels, Belgium

myminifactory

Meisje Met de Schelp, or Girl with Shell, is a life-size bronze sculpture of a nude girl holding a shell to her feet, meant to adorn the top of a drinking fountain. The fountain itself was originally created by the government for poor and homeless children who had nowhere else to quench their thirst. Today, however, it's more known for Alphone de Tombay's sculpture, a Belgian sculptor born in Brussels in 1843 and died there in 1918. De Tombay studied under Prosper Drion at the Academy of Fine Arts in Liege. In 1873, he received a scholarship from Lambert Darchis and worked in Rome from 1874 to 1878. Upon returning to Belgium, de Tombay stayed in Brussels until his death in 1918. This object is part of "Scan The World," a non-profit initiative by MyMiniFactory that's creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from around the world for public access free. Scan The World is an open-source community effort where anyone with interesting items can contribute by emailing stw@myminifactory.com to find out how they can help.