Panic horror

Mediums: bronze.
Location: The E. Barlach House-Museum, Hamburg (Germany).

A great creator, as a rule, reflects what his people experienced. In Germany, there were plenty of tragic events witnessed by Barlach. From 1898 (a mass strike with victims) and 1910 (eight thousand people died from cholera) to the world war, in which the artist participated. Ernst knew very well what panic and horror looked like. The figures, sharply leaning back and raising their heads, froze – death was probably coming from above in the form of bombs or a crumbling building. Mature Barlach had extreme tension in the subtext of plastic decisions; his gothic style directs his inner state to the outside world. While panic makes you flee, horror leads to numbness – it was just this highest moment that the master depicted.