Ernst Barlach:
Sculpture "The Stroller" (1912), bronze reduction
Ernst Barlach:
Sculpture "The Stroller" (1912), bronze reduction

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ars mundi Exclusive Edition | limited, 980 copies | numbered | signature | foundry hallmark | certificate | bronze | chased | patinated | reduction | size 28 x 13.5 x 9.5 cm (h/w/d) | weight 4.8 kg

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Sculpture "The Stroller" (1912), bronze reduction
Ernst Barlach: Sculpture "The Stroller" (1912), bronze re...

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Sculpture "The Stroller" (1912), bronze reduction

"It was a compatriot who boarded the train between Güstrow and Rostock. He sat opposite me with his mighty body so motionless that our knees touched, and there was no possibility to sketch. There was nothing left for me to do but to keep him in focus until I finally knew him by heart." This is how Ernst Barlach describes his encounter with the fellow traveller who would later inspire his sculpture.

A mature man trudges against the wind with his hands clasped behind his back. The sculpture is reminiscent of Goethe's Privy Councillor. One could also think of the great Ludwig van Beethoven making his way through the old streets of Vienna in an overcoat. Both faced the wind and many a storm with courage and a spirit of dissent throughout their lives.

Barlach, just like Goethe, just like Beethoven, was a passionate hiker and walker. Only in exceptional cases is continuing life's journey considered a stroll. With eyes searching in the distance and whistling a defiant tune, Barlach's walker offers his defiance to everything. His walker shows some backbone. He does not go astray. He stands up to the wind. Great forcefulness emanates from him. It conveys impressive insight, strength and power. Free from the ideas of generations, from the spirit of the times and fashions, Barlach's stroller goes his way unflinchingly in originality and strength. (Dr Friedhelm Häring - former museum director and curator)

Fine bronze sculpture, cast by hand using the Lost-Wax-Process, chiselled 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" taken from the original as well as the foundry hallmark. ars mundi Exclusive Edition. With numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Size 28 x 13,5 x 9,5 cm (h/w/d). Weight 4,8 kg.

Portrait of the artist Ernst Barlach

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, in particular, 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 in the depths, the inner self. Shaped by war and challenging living conditions, he experiences both suffering and happiness. The human being is always the focus of his work: Ecce homo.

"I desire nothing more than to be a good and true 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)

Ernst Barlach became an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, in 1925. 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 for being "degenerate art". Ernst Barlach died in Rostock on October 24, 1938.

Today, Ernst Barlach's works are an integral part of leading museums and collections and - if available - fetch record amounts 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.

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