Two Dramas by Ernst Barlach

Ernst Barlach (1870 -1938)

Ernst Barlach (1870 to 1938) is known today primarily as a sculptor. But his work was far more diverse – he was also active in printmaking, drawing and literature. Barlach is one of the most important German Expressionists. One of his most popular works is the bronze sculpture “Der Schwebende” (1927), which the artist created as a memorial to those who died in the First World War.

Barlach studied at the Hamburg School of Arts and Crafts from 1888 to 1891, followed by studies at the Dresden Art Academy until 1895. This was followed by a two-year stay in Paris, where he was mainly occupied with writing.
Barlach’s dramatic and illustrative work is closely associated with the Berlin publishing house of Paul Cassirer. Both the text volumes and the printed sequels to the dramas were published there.

The holdings of the Anhaltische Landesbücherei Dessau include two early editions of the two dramas “Der tote Tag” and “Der arme Vetter”.

The Dead Day

“Der tote Tag” was written in 1912; it is Barlach’s first drama. He processed the biblical motif of the prodigal son by elaborating the conflict between father and son in a mythically exaggerated imagery. The son wants to go to his father, but cannot break away from his mother.
Ernst Barlach: The Dead Day. Drama in five acts. 3rd edition. Berlin, by Paul Cassirer, 1919
Dessau-Roßlau Municipal Archives, Anhaltische Landesbücherei, shelfmark: 8120. 4°.

The poor cousin

“Der arme Vetter”, Barlach’s second drama, was written during the First World War and premiered in 1919. Barlach himself wrote that it depicted “man as an impoverished and miserable subordinate” and was “about a miserable self-liberation that exaggerates one’s own death as the beginning of a liberation”.
Ernst Barlach: Der arme Vetter. 3rd edition. Berlin, by Paul Cassirer, 1919
Dessau-Roßlau Municipal Archives, Anhaltische Landesbücherei, call number: 8119. 4°