Ernst Barlach: Wooden sculpture 'Shepherd in the Storm' (1908), reduction in bronze

Against all odds: Ernst Barlach's 'Shepherd in the Storm'. ars mundi exclusive edition, published in co-operation with the Kunsthalle Bremen. Ernst Barlach is one of the most important representatives of Realism and Expressionism. His training took him to Hamburg, Dresden and Paris. After travelling to Russia in 1907, which had a formative influence on him, he created his first wooden sculptures and bronze figures, which are among his best-known works today and in which he incorporated his impressions of Russian folk art. Among them is the figure 'Shepherd in the Storm' from 1908, which was originally executed in lime wood and was Barlach's first large wooden sculpture. The bearded shepherd is bracing himself against the wind with his head bowed and striding vigorously. With his right hand he presses his flat hat into his forehead, with his left he pulls the hem of his wide, puffy coat close to his body. Close at his heels, a dog follows him, seeking shelter between the shepherd's legs and beneath the billowing tip of his coat. Barlach had already prepared the motif a year earlier in a preliminary drawing, which is now privately owned. In the sculpture, the man and the animal merge on the almost oval plinth to form a triangular composition that seems to push forward like the bow of a ship against the resistance of the wind. The softly swaying contours of the coat enliven the closed structure of the group of figures. Even in his early works, Barlach was concerned with people and their living conditions. The sculpture 'Shepherd in the Storm' is the first in a series of works by Barlach that show man in confrontation with external forces, whereby he understood storm and wind as an expression of superhuman powers. The Bremen painter and patron Leopold Biermann acquired the sculpture in 1908 at the 16th exhibition of the Berlin Secession and donated it to the Kunsthalle Bremen. The 'Shepherd in the Storm' thus became the first work by Barlach to enter a public art collection. Sculpture 'Shepherd in the Storm': Original: Fine bronze, cast using the lost wax technique, chiselled, polished and patinated by hand. Moulded directly from the original and reduced in size (reduction). Limited edition of 980 pieces, individually numbered and with the signature 'E. Barlach' and the foundry mark. ars mundi exclusive edition, published in collaboration with the Kunsthalle Bremen. With numbered certificate of authenticity and limitation. Size 27.5 x 25 x 13 cm (h/w/d). Weight 4.8 kg. 'The Kunsthalle Bremen owns one of the most extensive collections of the expressionist sculptor Ernst Barlach, with many important sculptures and his entire oeuvre of prints. We are therefore delighted to share a reproduction of his major work 'Shepherd in the Storm' with the world. The carved wooden sculpture was created in 1908 and donated to the museum just one year later. For me, it symbolises the universal idea that hurdles are part of life. The easy path is not always the right one if you want to achieve your goals or fulfil your duties. (Prof Dr Christoph Grunenberg, Director of the Kunsthalle Bremen)