Der Geistkämpfer

Ernst Barlach described »The Spirit Fighter« as a depiction of “overcoming.” But what exactly is the figure vanquishing? An angel with a raised sword stands on the back of a wild animal, and yet the wrinkled brow and the contemplative gaze would not appear to indicate a triumph. The menacing-looking monster is still alive and the angel’s posture seems more defensive in character than the attitude of a glorious victor.

For Barlach, the image of the animal was associated with suffering and instinct, while the angel represented the overcoming of suffering through a spiritual and intellectual principle. This process of overcoming is never completed, but is a continual struggle which proceeds relentlessly within the individual. Barlach originally produced »The Spirit Fighter« for the Church of the Holy Spirit in Kiel, where it was erected in front of the building in 1928 and subsequently removed by the National Socialists in 1937. The Kunsthalle’s copy is a bronze cast of the original model.