About the Artwork
The Avenger testifies to the enthusiasm with which Ernst Barlach, like many of his artist contemporaries in Germany, welcomed the outbreak of World War I as a catalyst for a new and better future. When the horrors of war unraveled, Barlach became profoundly disillusioned, and the meaning of the sculpture shifted for him.
First sculpted in clay and plaster between September and October 1914, the figure of The Avenger personified the will to action. The artist described it enthusiastically as “the crystalized essence of War.” Its lunging horizontal silhouette on a slanted base and prismatically stretched robe, the upraised sword, ready to strike, conveyed an unrestrained aggression. After the war, in 1922, Barlach carved a larger version in wood, making subtle alterations to the figure’s face, now marked with more ambivalent expression.
This bronze was issued by Barlach’s dealer Alfred Flechtheim in 1930, the first in an intended edition of ten.
The Avenger
1914, cast 1930
Ernst Barlach
1870-1938
German
Unknown
Bronze
Overall: 17 1/2 × 8 1/2 × 23 1/2 inches (44.5 × 21.6 × 59.7 cm)
Sculpture
European Modern Art to 1970
Gift of Mrs. George Kamperman in memory of her husband Dr. George Kamperman
64.260
Public Domain
Markings
Signed, on left side above base: E Barlach 1/10
Inscribed: 1/10.
Marks: H. NOACK | BERLIN FRIEDENAN
Provenance
by 1946, Dr. and Mrs. George Kamperman (Detroit, Michigan, USA);1964-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
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Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts. Exh. cat., Bunkamura Museum of Art. Detroit, 1989, no.115 (ill.).
Uhr, Horst. "Masterpieces of German Expressionism at the Detroit Institute of Arts." New York, 1982, p. 32 (ill.).
"Arts and Crafts in Detroit." 1976, no. 247, p.188 (ill.).
Bulletin of the DIA 44, no. 1 (1964-65): p. 10, p.14 (ill.).
Origins of Modern Sculpture. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts and St. Louis City Art Museum. Detroit and St. Louis, 1946, cat. no. 74. [as "Revenge"]
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Ernst Barlach, The Avenger, 1914, cast 1930, bronze. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mrs. George Kamperman in memory of her husband Dr. George Kamperman, 64.260.
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