Barlach, Ernst Lot n° 8098

The book reader (Reading man in the wind) Bronze with reddish brown patina. 1936. 44,9 x 20,7 x 32,8 cm. Signed "E Barlach" on the back above the stand as well as with the two-part foundry stamp "BERLIN H. NOACK". Schult 473, Laur 600, 2 (of 3). In a contemplative pose, the man sits bent forward, engrossed in his reading, on a small hill, his elbows propped up on his knees, holding a small book in his hands. In this figure Barlach creates the personification of calm and prudence: eyes wide open, the man seems to be reading and yet at the same time looking into the distance. His body, viewed in profile, forms a closed semicircle from the ground to his back to his head, which is broken up radially on the front of the figure. The book reader's heavy floor-length robe, which forms large folds at the sides and over his arms and shins, nevertheless gives him a resting and grounded appearance and underscores his contemplative aura. The epithet "Reading Man in the Wind" finds expression, like a rock in the surf, in the figure's monumental appearance, earthiness, and groundedness. This monumentality is breathed by numerous sculptures by Barlach, which he created after formative impressions by the primitive peasant people on his trip to Russia in 1906. The motif of reading was central to Barlach's drawings and sculptures throughout his life. Especially in view of the infamous book burnings of the National Socialists in 1933, he courageously denounced the curtailment of freedom with regard to a self-chosen reading with his "Book Reader". Barlach is one of the most important sculptors of Classical Modernism, who himself suffered from ostracism during the Third Reich: numerous of his works were removed from museums, churches and public places in 1937. Castings of this popular bronze can be found in numerous museums, including the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, the Sprengel Museum, Hanover, the Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum Schloss Gottorf and the Staatliches Museum, Schwerin. One of 31 examples cast since 1939. Three lifetime castings exist, made between 1937 and 20.4.1938, as well as one example in zinc from 1942. Splendid, posthumous casting with wonderfully warm, even patina. Provenance: Ernst Hauswedell, Buch- und Kunstantiquariat, Hamburg (acquired there on 25.6.1969, the copy of the invoice is available) Private property Berlin