Wall object "Head of the Güstrow Memorial", reduction in bronze
Wall object "Head of the Güstrow Memorial", reduction in bronze
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ars mundi Exclusive Edition | limited, 980 copies | numbered | signature | foundry hallmark | certificate | bronze | reduction | size 22.5 x 24 x 15 cm (w/h/d) | weight 4.5 kg | wall hanging
Detailed description
Wall object "Head of the Güstrow Memorial", reduction in bronze
Memorial and expression of friendship: "The Floating"
One of Ernst Barlach's most famous works, "The Floating", was created as a war monument for the victims of the First World War and hung from 1927-1937 in a niche of Güstrow Cathedral. However, it is also a memorial to friendship in two ways: as a complete sculpture (Catalogue raisonné 425) and as a detailed cast "Head of the Güstrow Memorial" (Catalogue raisonné 426).
The fact that the complete sculpture still exists is thanks to Barlach's friends. Shortly after the artist died in 1938, they had another cast made based on the existing model and hid, it because the original "The Floating" was classified as "degenerate" by the Nazi authorities in 1937 and removed from the cathedral and even melted down. Today it hangs in the church Antoniterkirche in Cologne and can be used to make other castings for its original location. That is how Barlach's masterpiece returned to the Güstrow Cathedral in 1953 and has been there ever since. The dates engraved in stone serve as a reminder of the victims of the world wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-45.
The "Head of the Güstrow Memorial", Barlach's detailed casting from 1930, is also a document of an immediate artist friendship. The facial features are those of his artist friend Käthe Kollwitz, although "without intention", as he later maintains. Her work was also ostracised in National Socialist Germany, and in 1936, they were removed from the Berlin Academy Exhibition. From then on, she was practically no longer present as an artist. Thus, in retrospect, the "Head of the Güstrow Memorial" seems like a foreshadowing of a community of fate: it is the portrait of an artist whom Barlach admired with friendship and who, like himself, soon faced hard times.
The special features of this edition:
Made of fine bronze, cast by hand using the Lost-Wax-Process. Directly moulded from the original and reduced in size. Limited to 980 copies, individually numbered, with foundry hallmark. ars mundi Exclusive Edition, published in cooperation with the Ernst Barlach Society. With numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation.
Version as wall object. Detail casting of the "The Floating" (catalogue raisonné 424, 1927), was first executed in 1930 (catalogue raisonné 426). With wall suspension.
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.
Graphic or sculpture edition that was initiated by ars mundi and is available only at ars mundi or at distribution partners licensed by ars mundi.
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Artistic movement that replaced Impressionism in the early 20th century.
Expressionism is the German form of the art revolution in painting, graphic art and sculpture, with its precursors found in the works of Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin at the end of the 19th century. The expressionists sought to reach the fundamental elements of painting. Using vibrant, unbroken colours in large areas, emphasising lines, and aiming for suggestive expressiveness, they fought against the artistic taste established by the bourgeoisie.
The most important representatives of Expressionism were the founders of "Die Brücke": Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Max Pechstein, Otto Mueller and Franz Marc, August Macke and others.
Masters of Viennese Expressionism are Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. Among sculptors, Ernst Barlach is the most famous.
Fauvism is the French form of Expressionism.
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.