Barlach & Kollwitz

in a jiffy, elbowing my way around the sculptures, i managed to see yesterday’s opening at leopold museum. at the beginning i took refuge in the small theater which was almost empty and saw there a documentary on ernst barlach. and then had to fight my way through the masses and saw the sculptures (käthe kollwitz included), drawings, etchings and lithographs which were exhibited. overall, you get a feeling of gloom and unsettling – death, fear, unhappiness. it’s been interesting to see how much influence his trip to russia had on his work. or his interest in far-eastern philosophy (der berserker). and how he abandoned everything after his work has been categorized as degenerate art, his ‘angel’ being destroyed…