Ernst BarlachDas WiedersehenBronze. Height 48 cm. Signed 'E. Barlach' on back of plinth as well as

Ernst Barlach
Das Wiedersehen
Bronze. Height 48 cm. Signed 'E. Barlach' on back of plinth as well as with the foundry mark 'H. NOACK BERLIN'. Total edition 36 casts. One of 25 unnumbered casts from the years of cast since 1938. - With dark patina, lightened in places.

Laur 391/2; Schult I 306

Provenance
Private possession, South Germany

Exhibitions
i.a. Berlin 1930 (Galerie Flechtheim), Bronzen von Ernst Barlach, no. 17; Bremen 1959 (Kunsthalle Bremen), Ernst Barlach, no. 501; Berlin 1981 (Akademie der Künste), Ernst Barlach. Werke und Werkentwürfe aus fünf Jahrzehnten, with ills. on frontispiece; Kiel 1998 (Kunsthalle Kiel), Ernst Barlach. Mehr als ich, p. 109 with full-page colour illus.; Rostock 1998 (Kunsthalle Rostock), Ernst Barlach. Artist of the North, p. 169 with full-page colour illus.; Flensburg/Ribe 2002 (Museumsberg Flensburg Ribe Kunstmuseum) Ernst Barlach, Wege und Wanderungen. Vom Jugendstil zum Expressionismus, no. 25; Hamburg 2003 (Hauptkirche St. Katharinen), Ernst Barlach, Mystiker der Moderne, p. 298; Kyoto/Tokyo/Yamanashi 2006 (The National Museum of Modern Art/The Universitiy Art Museum/Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music/Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art), Ernst Barlach Retrospective, no. 142

Literature
i.a. Friedrich Droß (ed.), Ernst Barlach, Die Briefe II, 1925 - 1938, Munich 1969, no. 1448; Carl Dietrich Carls, Ernst Barlach, Das plastische, graphische und dichterische Werk, Berlin 1931, p. 84 with full-page illus., p. 85; Kunsthalle Mannheim, Bestandskatalog Skulptur, Plastik, Objekt, Mannheim 1982, p. 71, no. 440 with illus.; Kunsthalle Kiel, Katalog der Bildwerke, revised by Ulrich Bischoff, Rendsburg 1986, p. 29 with full-page illus.; Heinz Spielmann (ed.), Stiftung und Sammlung Rolf Horn, Schleswig 1995, p. 190-191, no. 117 with colour illus.; Heike Stockhaus, Ernst Barlach und der Geist seiner Zeit, in: cat. Rostock 1998, p. 169 with full-page colour illus.; Elisabeth Laur, Vom Jugendstilkünstler zum expressionistischen Holzbildhauer, in: cat. Flensburg/Ribe 2002, p. 50 f.; Naomi Jackson Groves, Ernst Barlach, Leben im Werk. Plastiken, Zeichnungen und Graphiken, Dramen, Prosawerk und Briefe, Taunus 2013, p. 99

The two men facing each other represent Christ, recognisable by his wounds, and his former disciple, the doubting Thomas. This group of two figures, initially carved in walnut, is counted among the main works in Barlach's sculptural work. Thematically, they originate from the Gospel of John (cf. chapter 20, verses 24-29). Seeking support and full of consternation, the bowed, doubting Thomas looks up at Christ who, following his resurrection and despite his wounds, stands very upright seemingly already disconnected from everything mortal. The originally traditional iconographic motif is interpreted completely independently here.
The figures exhibit ascetic features typical of Barlach. Since his war experiences, Barlach increasingly used the figure of Christ as a symbol for the suffering of mankind. The group of figures reveals the fundamental drama typical of Barlach's works as well as his interest in tackling difficult compositional tasks. In preparation for the sculptural version, Barlach produced a charcoal drawing titled “Wiedersehen (Christus und Thomas)“, to be found in the estate of Ernst Barlach, dated 3 April 1922 (cat. rais. Wittboldt/Laur, Werkverzeichnis III, no. 1928).

Ernst Barlach
Das Wiedersehen
Bronze. Höhe 48 cm. Hinten auf der Plinthe signiert 'E. Barlach' sowie mit dem Gießerstempel 'H. NOACK BERLIN' versehen. Eines von 25 unnummerierten Exemplaren der Gussjahre seit 1938, von insgesamt 36 Exemplaren. - Mit dunkler, stellenweise aufgelichteter Patina.

Laur 391/2; Schult I 306

Provenienz
Privatbesitz Süddeutschland

Ausstellungen
u.a. Berlin 1930 (Galerie Flechtheim), Bronzen von Ernst Barlach, Nr. 17; Bremen 1959 (Kunsthalle