Ernst Barlach

Sculptor, painter and writer, Ernst Barlach (1870–1938) developed a body of work in which sculpture sits alongside theatre, drawing and printmaking, while his early works address humanity, its conditions of existence and its relationship to life. Trained in painting and sculpture in Hamburg, he continued his studies with Robert Diez at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, then at the Académie Julian in Paris from 1895 to 1897; after this training, he worked as an independent artist from 1897. In 1905, he taught for six months at the ceramics school in Höhr-Grenzhausen, in the Westerwald, and from 1909 received a scholarship to study at the Villa Romana in Florence. His 1906 journey to Russia was followed by the creation of massive statuettes. From 1910, he regularly took part in exhibitions of the Berlin Secession.

The experience of the First World War, following his enlistment in 1915, was a formative moment in the development of his work; his principal dramatic works were written between 1912 and 1927. Memorials to the dead of the First World War occupy an important place in his work as a sculptor. The first, erected in Güstrow in 1922, evokes the grief of bereaved mothers; further memorials were subsequently installed in Kiel, Magdeburg and Hamburg. Alongside his wood and bronze sculptures, Barlach left a body of printed, drawn and written works. His printed works include the woodcut Gruppe im Sturm (1919) and the artist’s book Die Wandlungen Gottes (1922), which comprises seven prints. The museums of the Ernst Barlach Society in Ratzeburg and Wedel preserve sculptures and drawings by the artist.

Works recorded at auction

Kornfeld · Lot 224

Singender Klosterschüler

Charcoal on yellow firm wove paper

Catalogue period : 2025-09-11

Published result : 5500 CHF

Hammer price, excluding fees

Estimate : CHF 4000

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Germann

Woman moving against the wind, 1919

Charcoal on paper.

Original catalogue wording

Frau gegen den Wind laufend, 1919
Kohle auf Papier.

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

View the lot at the auction house ↗