The victory of the spiritual over the earthly:a basic motif in Ernst Barlach's work between realism and expressionism. In addition to sculptures made of wood and bronze, his work includes prints, drawings, plays and novels.
Ernst Barlach was born on January 2, 1870 in Wedel near Hamburg as the son of a doctor. He attended the general trade school in Hamburg and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden until 1895.
The sculptor discovered his style in Russia
Barlach got inspiration from his trip to Russia in 1906.After stays in Paris and Berlin, a trip to Russia in 1906 provided the decisive impetus for Barlach's sculptural work. Even with his first works after this artistic experience, the seated "Steppe Shepherd", the "Seated Woman" or the "Russian Beggar Woman", it becomes clear that he has found his own style, his own form.
In 1907, Barlach signed a contract with the art dealer Paul Cassirer, which gave him a secure life. In 1909 he went to Florence on a grant from the Deutscher Künstlerbund. Barlach stayed in the German artists' house there for nine months. Barlach's main works from his time in Italy include "The Reveler" and the "Star Signs" I and II (standing and sitting).
Ernst Barlach is drawn to Mecklenburg
The studio of the sculptor Ernst Barlach in Güstrow. Since 1978, works by Barlach have been shown in the house, which has been set up as a museum.But the North German feels more comfortable in the Mecklenburg countryside, in Güstrow. In 1910 he went to Güstrow, where he fulfilled 28 years, but ultimately also spent painful years. Wood works are created here, such as "The Wanderer in the Wind", "Reading Monastery Pupils", the "Frieze of the Listeners" and the famous "Floating Angel" - a bronze sculpture, the first cast of which has been lost and of which three later casts exist today.
Barlach also writes plays that convey a message:despair at the degradation of man, banishment to the hell of life, where freedom is at least questionable. However, these pieces, such as "The Blue Boll", "The Good Time", "The Dead Day" or "The Poor Vetter", prove to be too bulky on stage for theaters to have taken on them.
Barlach's depictions of human suffering
The "Geistkampfer" - the world-famous sculpture by Ernst Barlach in front of Kiel's Nikolaikirche.In 1924 Barlach - meanwhile one of the most established artists in Germany - was awarded the Kleist Prize. In the implementation of warrior memorials, he had trodden a completely new path:away from the heroization of the soldier's death towards the depiction of suffering, death and oppression. The famous memorials in Hamburg, Magdeburg and Güstrow from the 1920s therefore do not show heroes, but suffering people.
"Degenerate" - Nazis remove Barlach works from museums
That's exactly what the rising National Socialists don't like. A bad time begins for the artist in the early 1930s. Barlach's works are increasingly coming under criticism. Right-wing circles attack them as "degenerate". In 1937, 381 of his works were removed from museums and public spaces in Germany, including the "Floating Angel" from Güstrow Cathedral and the "Geistkampfer" in Kiel. Ernst Barlach is increasingly withdrawing.
Güstrow becomes Barlachstadt
The sculptor, writer and draftsman died on October 24, 1938 after a heart attack in a Rostock clinic. The city of Güstrow, which has officially been called Barlachstadt since 2007, posthumously made him an honorary citizen in 2010. The Ernst Barlach Foundation presents the artistic legacy of the sculptor, graphic artist and writer in various buildings in Güstrow - for example in the Gertrude chapel, in the studio building and in the graphics cabinet.
Ernst Barlach Haus in Hamburg shows his main works
Since 1961, the Ernst Barlach House in Hamburg's Jenischpark has been showing the artist's most important works with around 150 sculptures and over 450 drawings - including 30 of his wooden sculptures such as the "Fries der Lauschenden". The fact that the series of figures exists today is also thanks to the Hamburg manufacturer Hermann F. Reemtsma. Deeply impressed by Barlach's work, he commissioned him to finish the series of sculptures and became a supporter and collector of Barlach's work. In 1960 he transferred his collection to a foundation, which in turn provided the basis for the Barlach House, which opened in 1961.