ERNST BARLACH

ERNST BARLACH. The Hamburg Memorial | Okt 24th 2004 - Jan 09th 2005
catalogue for special exhibition | 48 pages | 35 illustrations | softcover | german edition

If you ask local or foreign pedestrians who have just strolled across the small lock bridge in the direction of Hamburg's City Hall and have their gaze fixed on the Alster arcades about Ernst Barlach's Hamburg memorial, a shrug of the shoulders is a frequent reaction. Today, the memorial at the steps leading to the Alster commemorates the dead people of the two World Wars. On the front it bears the inscription "Forty thousand sons of the city left their lives for you" and on the back it shows a relief by Ernst Barlach from 1930 - in a heavily weathered state and apparently vanished from the perception and consciousness of many. New locations lead to seeing the works differently. When Master Bertram's altar was presented in the dome again after years in December 2007, it was already apparent to what extent more air and light - a different placement and targeted lighting - would make the panels and sculptures more effective. Now, after a reconstruction of the rooms, this has also been achieved permanently.