BARLACH, ERNST. - Sculptor and draughtsman, b. in 1870 at Wedel (Hamburg), d. at Rostock in 1938. Together with Lehmbruck, he is considered one of the most eminent modern German sculptors. The same reduction to heavy, cubic and simplified forms is found both in his sculptures and in his illustrations (lithographs and woodcuts) and in his drawings. In 1930 he began his major work, the cycle of large sculptures for the facade of St. Catherine's in Lübeck; the work, interrupted during the Nazi regime, was later continued, as B. himself wished, by G. Marcks.

Important earlier works are the monuments to the fallen in the cathedral of Magdeburg (in wood) and in that of Guestrow (in bronze).

Bibliography6 works

BIBL.: H. Hildebrandt, Die Kunst des 19. u. 20. Jahrhunderts, Wildpark-Potsdam 1924, passim; E. B., Ein selbstzerkältes Leben, Berlin 1928 (autobiography); C. D. Caris, B., Berlin 1931; P. Fechter, Zeichnungen von E. B., Munich 1932; K. Einstein, Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Berlin 1931, passim; W. R. Valentiner, Origins of Modern Sculpture, New York 1946, pp. 4, 73, 172.

Bernardo Degenhart

@incollection{ec2_barlach_ernst, author = {Degenhart, Bernardo}, title = {Barlach, ernst}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {II}, pages = {858}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1949}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/barlach-ernst} }

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Barlach, Ernst

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