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Description: Signed E. Barlach and stamped with the foundry mark H. Noack, Berlin Bronze, golden brown patina Conceived in 1928 and cast in the early 1950's. Exhibited: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Drawings, Paintings & Sculpture from Three Private Collections, 1960, no. 67 Palm Springs Desert Art Museum, Desert Art Collections, 1985 Literature: Carl D. Carls, Das plastische, graphische und dichterische Werk, Berlin, 1931, fig. 49, illustration of another cast Ernst Barlach, Ein Selbsterzähltes Leben, Munich, 1948, illustration of another cast p. 69 Wolfgang Gielow, Ernst Barlach. Katalog der Plastik, Munich, 1954, no. 252 Wolf Stubbe and Friedrich Hewicker, Ernst Barlach, Plastik, Munich, 1959, illustration of another cast pl. 68 (as dating from 1930) Friedrich Schult, Ernst Barlach, Das Plastische Werk, Hamburg, 1960, no. 343, illustration of another cast p. 191 Carls Dietrich Carls, Ernst Barlach, New York and Washington, 1969, illustration of another cast pl. 88 Franz Fühmann, Ernst Barlach, das Wirkliche und Wahrhaftige, Weisbaden, 1970, no. 159, illustration of another cast on the cover Der singende Mann is one of Barlach's best known works and is a superb example of the artist's ability to convey emotion through the medium of sculpture. During his training in Hamburg and later in Dresden during the 1890s, Barlach developed an appreciation for the expressive potential of wood carving, particularly that of the northern German Gothic tradition and Russian folk art. As a draftsman, he was also very much impressed with the earthy gravity of the early work of van Gogh, and reincorporated this sensibility into his own work with a refreshing sense of humor that was notably absent in the work of the Dutch artist. This medley of influences led Barlach to forge a distinct style that demonstrated his clever insight to the human condition.