Wilhelm Lehmbruck

During his training at the Düsseldorf School of Arts and Crafts and the Academy of Arts, which he completed in 1907 as a master student of Karl Janssen, Lehmbruck was still guided by traditional principles of form from Greek-Roman antiquity. His particular passion for the three-dimensional medium became apparent early on, which, along with a large number of drawings and graphic works, constitutes the main part of his oeuvre. He picked up decisive influences from Auguste Rodin and Albert Bartholomé, whose sculptural handwriting is permanently reflected in his works. In Lehmbruck's sculptural work, man is consistently the starting point for his artistic reflection. Among Lehmbruck's most famous and most reproduced works are his human torsos - graceful, super-slim hulls as well as busts of primarily female form. In addition to the fragmentary on a formal level, the characteristic feature of his works is above all the expression of spirituality that envelops Lehmbruck's entire oeuvre: "Now all external action has been taken from the figures and all events have become an inner one" - August Hoff aptly describes this characteristic.