Ernst Barlach
A sculptor who carved profound human suffering and spiritual yearning from blocks of wood, his pacifist works later condemned by the Nazis as 'degenerate.'
1870–1938 (age 68)·German expressionist sculptor, printmaker and writer·Birthday: January 2·The Gilded Age
Biography
Ernst Barlach began as an Art Nouveau illustrator, but found his monumental voice in sculpture after a transformative trip to Russia in 1906. The peasant faces and vast landscapes he encountered there led him to abandon decorative detail for a powerful, simplified form. Working primarily in wood and bronze, he created figures that seemed burdened by existential weight—singing beggars, weary travelers, and grieving mothers—their rough-hewn surfaces radiating a raw, spiritual intensity. Initially a supporter of German nationalism, his experience in the trenches of World War I turned him into a committed pacifist. His most famous works, like the haunting 'Der Schwebende' (The Floating One) war memorial in Güstrow, became targets for the Nazi regime, which labeled his art 'degenerate' and removed over 400 of his pieces from museums. Barlach spent his final years in internal exile, his art banned, yet he continued to work secretly, leaving behind a legacy of profound humanism forged in resistance.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Ernst was born in 1870, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ernst Was Born
The biggest hits of 1870
Ernst's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1870Born
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1875Started school
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1883Became a teenager
President: Chester A. Arthur
1886Could drive
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbor
President: Grover Cleveland
1888Could vote
President: Grover Cleveland
1891Turned 21
President: Benjamin Harrison
1900Turned 30
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1910Turned 40
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1920Turned 50
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1930Turned 60
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1938Died at 68
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
Key Achievements
- Created the Güstrow Memorial Cathedral sculpture 'Der Schwebende' (The Floating One), a major anti-war monument.
- Was a prolific writer, producing several expressionist plays like 'Der tote Tag' (The Dead Day) and 'Der arme Vetter' (The Poor Cousin).
- Had hundreds of his works confiscated and several destroyed by the Nazi regime during their 'Degenerate Art' campaign.
- Awarded the prestigious Kleist Prize for drama in 1924 for his play 'Die Sündflut' (The Flood).
Did You Know?
He was also a skilled printmaker, producing many woodcuts and lithographs that complemented his sculptural themes.
The Nazis melted down the original bronze of his Güstrow 'Floating One'; a hidden second cast was later used to recreate it.
He designed several war memorials for German towns, all with a distinctly pacifist, mournful tone that later angered authorities.
“Art must be a means of forming, not of reforming.”
