Winter journey in the Harz Mountains 1: Solitary Rider 1924

Editor: This is "Winter Journey in the Harz Mountains 1: Solitary Rider" by Ernst Barlach. It's a small print, and the stark black and white gives it a rather haunting feel. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: That lone rider, wouldn't you say? He's a silhouette against that stark sunrise, and that spindly tree seems to be reaching for him, or maybe warding him off. It’s as if the landscape itself is in conversation with him. A visual poem of loneliness, perhaps. Editor: That makes so much sense, I wasn't sure about the tree figure! Thanks! Curator: It’s about the feeling, isn't it? Barlach invites us to feel the chill, the isolation, and maybe even a sliver of hope with that sunrise. Editor: So true! I will never see trees the same way.