Old Woman Dancing

Mediums: bronze.
Location: The Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig (Germany).

Having chosen ordinary people at moments of their unusual activity as his central theme, Ernst Barlach organically came to the style of late expressionism. In the sculptures, which can be considered daily sketches, he departed from the methods of realism, greatly simplifying the anatomy of the figures. Moreover, their movements almost always remain complex and expressive. The author carefully depicted the faces of his characters, as he considered it essential to convey emotion not only through the nature of the movement but also through facial expressions. This feature of Barlach’s art (not only literary) was noticed by Heinrich Mann, who regarded him as an honest, vigilant, deeply minded person who taught to think.