Ernst Barlach
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Ernst Barlach (1870-1938) was a German Expressionist sculptor, printmaker, and playwright. Born in Wedel, Holstein, he studied in Hamburg, Dresden, and Paris. A 1906 trip to Russia proved transformative: the peasant figures he encountered shaped his mature style of blocky, powerfully simplified human forms carved in wood or cast in bronze.
Barlach created several major war memorials, including the floating angel in Güstrow Cathedral and a mother with dead son at Magdeburg Cathedral. The Nazis classified his work as "degenerate art" in 1937, removing over 400 of his pieces from public collections. He died the following year. Three Barlach museums now preserve his legacy in Güstrow, Ratzeburg, and Hamburg.
Sculptures by Ernst Barlach
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About Ernst Barlach
Barlach is known for powerful Expressionist wood and bronze sculptures of simplified human figures, often conveying suffering, grief, or spiritual yearning. His war memorials are among the most moving anti-war statements in 20th-century sculpture.
Three museums are dedicated to his work: the Ernst Barlach Stiftung in Güstrow, the Barlach Museum in Ratzeburg, and the Ernst Barlach Haus in Hamburg. His floating angel hangs in Güstrow Cathedral.
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