Lot number 3348 - Auction 150
'DER GEISTERKÄMPFER'

ERNST BARLACH (AFTER) 1870 Wedel - 1938 Rostock THE GHOST FIGHTER Bronze, dark patina. H. 116, W. 55, D. 18 cm. Posthumous casting, inscribed 'E. Barlach' on the back. Expressive representation of a 'spirit fighter', an important sculpture by Ernst Barlach, designed in 1928 and later cast in various sizes and editions. The figure shows a winged figure, often interpreted as the archangel Michael, standing on the back of a stylized animal (lioness or wolf) and holding a sword raised high. Barlach himself described the work as a representation of "overcoming" and the "victory of the spiritual over the earthly." Minimal loss of patina, bumped and rubbed. Provenance: Private collection, Berlin.