BARLACH, ERNST

born Jan. 2, 1870, Wedel, Ger. died Oct. 24, 1938, Gstrow, Ger. outstanding sculptor of the Expressionist movement whose style has often been called modern Gothic. He was also a distinguished playwright whose most notable dramas, Der tote Tag (1912; The Dead Day) and Der Findling (1922; The Foundling), combine symbolism and realism to present the tragic futility of existence. Similarly, his Expressionist graphic work is notable for its preoccupation with the sufferings of humanity. Barlach studied art in Hamburg and later in Dresden and Paris. Influenced early in his career by Jugendstil, Germany's Art Nouveau style, he vacillated between sculpture and decorative arts. In 1906 he traveled to Russia. The strong bodies and expressive faces of the Russian peasants stimulated the development of his mature style, which characteristically features heavy, massive figures in rigid drapery, animated by a single, forceful movement. This is exemplified by The Avenger (1922). Barlach's interest in late Gothic German sculpture led to his preference for wood sculpture. Even when he worked with other materials, as in his bronze Death (1925; Ernst Barlach House, Hamburg), he often emulated the blocky, rough-hewn quality of wood sculpture to achieve a more brutal effect. Barlach achieved great fame in the 1920s and early 1930s, when he executed, among other works, the celebrated war memorials in Magdeburg and Hamburg and the religious figures for the Church of St. Katherine in Lbeck. Although his work was removed from German museums under the Nazi regime, after World War II his genius was once more recognized. Barlach's former studio in Gstrow, Ger., was made into a museum, and the Ernst Barlach House in Hamburg exhibits a large collection of his sculptures, drawings, and prints.