Sculpture "Shepherd in a Storm" (1908), reduction in bronze
Sculpture "Shepherd in a Storm" (1908), reduction in bronze
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ars mundi Exclusive Edition | limited, 980 copies | numbered | signature | foundry hallmark | certificate | bronze | patinated | reduction | size 27.5 x 25 x 13 cm (h/w/d) | weight 4.8 kg
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Sculpture "Shepherd in a Storm" (1908), reduction in bronze
Against all odds: Ernst Barlach's "Shepherd in the Storm". ars mundi Exclusive Edition, published in cooperation with the Kunsthalle Bremen.
Ernst Barlach is one of the most important representatives of Realism and Expressionism. During his studies, he travelled to Hamburg, Dresden and Paris. After a trip to Russia that had a formative influence on him, he created his first wooden sculptures and bronze figures from 1907 onwards. He incorporated his impressions of Russian folk art into these works, which are now considered his best-known works. Among them is the figure "Shepherd in a Storm" from 1908, the original of which was executed in lime wood and was Barlach's first large wooden sculpture.
With his head lowered and his hat pulled down over his face with the right hand, the bearded shepherd fights against the wind. His left pulls the hem of his wide and billowed coat close to his body. Closely at his heels, a dog follows him, seeking shelter between the shepherd's legs and under the blowing tip of his coat. In a preliminary drawing, which is now privately owned, Barlach had already prepared the motif a year earlier. For the sculpture, a human being and an animal join together on the almost oval plinth to form a triangular composition that seems to push forward against the resistance of the wind like the bow of a ship. The softly swinging contours of the mantle enliven the closed structure of the group of figures.
Barlach already dealt with human beings and their living conditions with his early works. The sculpture "Shepherd in a Storm" is the first in a series of works by Barlach that show human beings in confrontation with external forces. He understood storm and wind as expressions of superhuman powers. The painter and patron of the arts from Bremen, Leopold Biermann, acquired the sculpture in 1908 at the 16th exhibition of the Berlin Secession and donated it to the Kunsthalle Bremen. The "Shepherd in a Storm" thus became the first work by Barlach to enter a public art collection.
Sculpture "Shepherd in a Storm": Original: Wood Catalogue raisonné Laur II 140.
Fine bronze, cast using the Lost-Wax-Process, chiselled by hand, polished and patinated. Directly moulded from the original and reduced in size (reduction). Limited edition of 980 copies, individually numbered and with the signature "E. Barlach", reproduced from the original as well as the foundry hallmark. ars mundi Exclusive Edition, published in cooperation with the Kunsthalle Bremen. With numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Size 27,5 x 25 x 13 cm (h/w/d). Weight 4,8 kg.
"The Kunsthalle Bremen owns one of the most extensive collections of the expressionist sculptor Ernst Barlach with many important sculptures and the entire print work. So we are delighted to share a reproduction of his major work 'Shepherd in a Storm' with the world. The carved wooden sculpture was created in 1908 and donated to the museum just one year later. For me, it symbolises the universal idea that challenges are part of life. The easy way is not always the right way if you want to achieve your goals or follow your duties." (Prof. Dr Christoph Grunenberg, Director of the Kunsthalle Bremen)
Producer: ars mundi Edition Max Büchner GmbH, Bödekerstraße 13, 30161 Hanover, Germany, [email protected]
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About Ernst Barlach
1870-1938, sculptor, writer, and draughtsman
Ernst Barlach was born on January 2, 1870, in Wedel, Germany, and died on October 24, 1938, in Rostock, Germany. He holds an outstandingly special position within German Expressionism. As a graphic artist, draughtsman, writer, and above all, as a sculptor, Barlach created milestones in art history. Barlach's sculptural works of art have a special effect because they seek extreme experience of limits and their representation. They are works of multi-layered meaning with which he foregrounded the essence of the human being and that what stands above the self and the world.
Barlach's intention is rooted deeply, in the inner self. Shaped by war and challenging living conditions, he experiences both suffering and happiness. And always, at the centre of his work, stands the human being: Ecce homo.
"I desire nothing more than to be an artist, as best I can. I believe that what cannot be expressed through the work can pass into the possession of another through forms. My pleasure and creative impulse continually revolve around the problems of the meaning of life and the other great mountains in the spiritual realm." (Ernst Barlach)
In 1925, Ernst Barlach was made an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 1933, he was appointed Knight of the Peace Class of the Order "Pour le Mérite". In 1937, the National Socialists removed his works from public collections and spaces, branding them as "degenerate art." On October 24, 1938, Ernst Barlach died in Rostock.
Today, Ernst Barlach's works are an integral part of leading museums and collections, and - if available - fetch record prices at auction.
"The Singing Man" became Ernst Barlach's best-known sculpture, an icon of Modernism. It adorns illustrated books and posters worldwide, and the original edition is a permanent part of the collections of the world's major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
An alloy of copper with other metals (especially with tin) used since ancient times. It is an ideal metal for high-quality artistic castings, capable of enduring for millennia.
When casting bronze, the artist usually applies the lost-wax technique which is dating back more than 5000 years. This is the best, but also the most complex method of producing sculptures.
First, the artist forms a model of their work. This model is embedded in a liquid silicone rubber mass. Once the material has solidified, the model is cut out, leaving a negative mould. Liquid wax is then poured into the negative mould. After cooling down, the wax cast is removed from the mould, provided with sprues and dipped into ceramic mass. The ceramic mass is hardened in a kiln, where the wax melts away (lost mould).
Finally, the negative mould is ready, into which the 1400° C hot molten bronze is poured. After the bronze had cooled down, the ceramic shell is broken apart, reavoling the sculpture.
Next, the sprues are removed, the surfaces are polished, patinated and numbered by the artist or by a specialist, following their instructions. Thus, each casting is an original work.
For lower-quality bronze castings, the sand casting method is often used, which, however, does not achieve the results of a more elaborate lost-wax technique in terms of surface characteristics and quality.
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Term for an art object (sculpture, installation) that, according to the artist’s intention, is produced in multiple copies within a limited and numbered edition.
Multiples enable the "democratization" of art by making the work accessible and affordable for a wider audience.
A plastic work of sculptural art made of wood, stone, ivory, bronze or other metals.
While sculptures made of wood, ivory, or stone are carved directly from the material block, in bronze casting, a working model is prepared at first. Usually, it is made of clay or other easily mouldable materials.
The prime time of sculpture after the Greek and Roman antiquity was the Renaissance. Impressionism gave a new impulse to the sculptural arts. Contemporary artists such as Jorg Immendorf, Andora, and Markus Lupertz also enriched sculptures with outstanding works.