Standing Figure with Extinguished Torches 1922

"Standing Figure with Extinguished Torches" (1922) is a charcoal drawing by German Expressionist artist Ernst Barlach (1870-1938). The artwork depicts a solitary figure, rendered in a simplified, almost skeletal style, holding two extinguished torches. The figure's somber pose and the absence of light suggest a sense of loss, despair, or the end of an era. Barlach's work frequently explored themes of war, suffering, and the human condition, making this piece a poignant reflection of the anxieties of the post-World War I period.