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Wilhelm GrossThe Prophet / - The Burden of the Prophet -c. 1955
c. 1955
About the Item
Wilhelm Gross (1883 Schlawe - 1974 Oranienburg-Eden), The Prophet, c. 1955. Woodcut on thin laid paper, 43 cm x 23 cm (depiction), 61 cm x 43 cm (sheet size), signed “Dr. Wilh.[elm] Gross” in pencil lower right, inscribed “Orig.[inal] Holzschnitt (Handabdruck)” lower left and inscribed “Aus der ”Ecce homo“ Folge” in the center.
- The wide margin with traces of pressing due to the impression, the sitter's left foot with a small purple stain, otherwise in vibrant condition.
- The Burden of the Prophet -
The large-format woodcut shows a prophet figure that takes up almost the entire height of the sheet. However, instead of seeing something in the distance that is still hidden from our eyes - as is usual in depictions of prophets - the figure has raised his hands in a defensive gesture, as if the prophet is trying to ward off what he has seen. At the same time, however, the position of the arms is an acceptance of the inevitable, which only those who recognize what is to come will have to bear for the time being, which is why the figure in the painting - despite its size - appears almost solitary, alone and exposed to the burden of suffering.
In a manner reminiscent of the folds of medieval wooden sculptures, the expressive figure is "twitched" in a flash, illustrating the drama of the almost superhuman effort. The visible wooden structures of the background develop a vibrato that further energizes the depiction.
Wilhelm Groß left the surface of the wood unpolished when he made the block, using the technique of frottage. The woodcut was printed by hand, so that the grain was rubbed through the paper. For Groß, the grown wood structure is an analogy for individuality, each broken in its own way.
The prophet is a leitmotif in the work of Wilhelm Groß, for whom art itself has a prophetic character: "A beautiful work is [...] a work that appears with prophetic power.
About the artist
After deciding to abandon his career as a civil servant in favor of art, Wilhelm Groß went to Berlin in 1902, where he studied with the sculptors Otto Lessing and August Gaul. After beginning his studies at the Karlsruhe Art Academy, which he had to abandon for financial reasons, Groß returned to Berlin and worked as a freelance artist thanks to the support of his patron Eduard Arnhold. From 1904 until World War II, he enjoyed a fruitful artistic friendship with Max Beckmann. As a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund (DKB), he won the Villa Romana Prize in 1908, which enabled him to stay in Florence, where he came into contact with Ernst Barlach and Max Klinger. The artist lived in Rome from 1909 to 1911. Called up for World War I, Groß was released from military service in 1915 for health reasons. His experiences in the war, though harrowing, were tantamount to a conversion, and from then on his art was inspired by his faith. His self-built studio in Oranienburg-Eden became a cultural meeting place and, as the "Strohkirche," a meeting place of the Confessing Church during the Nazi era, where Kurt Scharf and Martin Niemöller held services.
In 1933, Groß was classified as "half Jewish," which resulted in a ban on exhibitions, expulsion from the Reich Chamber of Culture, and defamation of his works as "degenerate art. After the end of the Reign of Terror, Groß was ordained as a preacher in the province of Brandenburg and became pastor of the Sachsenhausen congregation. In 1953, he received an honorary doctorate from the Heidelberg Faculty of Theology. The artist responded to Walter Ulbricht's proclamation of the "Ten Commandments of Socialist Morals and Ethics" in 1961 with his last monumental sculpture, which depicts Moses with the Tablets of the Law.
"We should serve the great sculptor God as skilled tools. While working on a cross-bearing Christ in hard oak, I broke half of a valuable tool. Sadly, I put the stump aside and paid no attention to it for years, until one day I picked it up, removed the damaged piece of steel, and had the stump resharpened. Lo and behold, that short, unsightly iron became one of my favorite tools. The Lord works only with broken tools.”
- Wilhelm Gross
GERMAN VERSION
Wilhelm Gross (1883 Schlawe - 1974 Oranienburg-Eden), Der Prophet, um 1955. Holzschnitt auf dünnem Büttenpapier, 43 cm x 23 cm (Darstellung), 61 cm x 43 cm (Blattgröße), unten rechts in Blei mit „Dr. Wilh.[elm] Groß“ signiert, unten links als „Orig.[inal] Holzschnitt (Handabdruck)“ ausgewiesen und mittig mit „Aus der „Ecce homo“ Folge“ bezeichnet.
- Der breite Rand mit abdruckbedingten Pressspuren, der linke Fuß des Dargestellten mit kleiner lila Einfärbung, ansonsten in farbkräftigem Zustand.
- Die Last des Propheten -
Der großformatige Holzschnitt zeigt eine Prophetengestalt, die nahezu die gesamte Höhe des Blattes durchmisst. Anstatt jedoch – wie für Prophetendarstellung üblich – etwas in der Ferne zu erschauen, was unseren Augen noch verborgen bleibt, hat die Gestalt die Hände in einem Abwehrgestus erhoben, als ob der Prophet danach trachtete, das Erschaute abzuwehren. Die Armhaltung ist aber zugleich eine Annahme des Unumgänglichen, das zunächst einzig derjenige zu tragen hat, der das Kommende gewahrt, weshalb die Figur im Bild – trotz ihrer Größe – geradewegs einsam wirkt und allein der Last des Leidens ausgesetzt ist.
In einer die Gewandfalten mittelalterlicher Holzskulpturen aufgreifenden Weise wird die expressive Gestalt blitzartig ‚durchzuckt‘, was die Dramatik der schier übermenschlichen Kraftanstrengung veranschaulicht. Die sichtbaren Holzstrukturen des Hintergrundes entfalten ein Vibrato, das die Darstellung zusätzlich energetisiert.
Wilhelm Groß hat bei der Anfertigung des Druckstocks die Holzoberfläche ungeschliffen belassen und auf diese Weise das Mittel der Frottage eingesetzt. Der Holzschnitt ist im Handdruckverfahren entstanden, so dass die Holzmaserung auf das Papier durchgerieben wird. Für Groß ist die gewachsenen Holzstruktur eine Analogie für die je auf ihre Weise in sich gebrochene Individualität.
Der Prophet ist ein Leitmotiv im Werk von Wilhelm Groß, für den die Kunst selbst durch einen prophetischen Charakter gekennzeichnet ist: „Ein schönes Werk ist […] ein Werk, das in prophetischer Kraft auftritt“.
zum Künstler
Nach der Entscheidung die eingeschlagene Beamtenlaufbahn zugunsten der Kunst aufzugeben, ging Wilhelm Groß 1902 nach Berlin und lernte dort bei den Bildhauern Otto Lessing und August Gaul. Nach der Aufnahme des Studiums an der Kunstakademie Karlsruhe, dass er aus finanziellen Gründen abbrechen musste, kehrte Groß nach Berlin zurück und war dank der Unterstützung des Mäzens Eduard Arnhold als freischaffender Künstler tätig. Von 1904 bis zum Zweiten Weltkrieg verband in eine künstlerisch fruchtbare Freundschaft mit Max Beckmann. Als Mitglied des Deutschen Künstlerbunds (DKB) gewann er 1908 den Villa-Romana-Preis, der ihm einen Aufenthalt in Florenz ermöglichte, wo er in Kontakt mit Ernst Barlach und Max Klinger kam. Von 1909 bis 1911 lebte der Künstler in Rom. Zum Ersten Weltkrieg einberufen, wurde Groß 1915 aus gesundheitlichen Gründen vom Militärdienst freigestellt. Die dennoch einschneidenden Kriegserfahrungen kamen einem Bekehrungserlebnis gleich, so dass seine Kunst fortan vom Glauben getragen war. Sein in Oranienburg-Eden selbstgebautes Atelier entwickelte sich zum kulturellen Treffpunkt und war als „Strohkirche“ während der NS-Zeit Versammlungsort der Bekennenden Kirche, in der Kurt Scharf und Martin Niemöller Gottesdienste abhielten.
1933 war Groß als „Halbjude“ eingestuft worden, was mit einem Ausstellungsverbot, dem Ausschluss aus der Reichskulturkammer und der Diffamierung seiner Werke als „entartete Kunst“ einherging. Nach dem Ende der Schreckensherrschaft wurde Groß zum Prediger der Provinz Brandenburg ordiniert und Pastor der Gemeinde Sachsenhausen. 1953 verlieh ihm die Theologische Fakultät Heidelberg die Ehrendoktorwürde. Die Verkündung der „Zehn Gebote der sozialistischen Moral und Ethik“ durch Walter Ulbricht im Jahr 1961 beantwortete der Künstler mit seiner letzten monumentalen Plastik, die Mose mit den Gesetzestafeln darstellt.
„Wir sollen ja dem großen Bildhauer Gott als geschickte Werkzeuge dienen. Beim Arbeiten an einem kreuztragenden Christus in hartem Eichenholz brach mir ein wertvolles Werkzeug zur Hälfte ab. Traurig tat ich den Stumpf beiseite und habe ihn jahrelang nicht beachtet, bis ich ihn eines Tages wieder zur Hand nahm, das beschädigte Stück Stahl entfernen und den Stumpf wieder neu anschleifen ließ. Und siehe da, dies kurze, unansehnliche Eisen ist eines meiner Lieblingswerkzeuge geworden. Gott der Herr arbeitet nur mit zerbrochenen Werkzeugen.“
Wilhelm Groß
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