Gerhard Marcks

Gerhard Marcks (1889–1981) is one of the most important figurative sculptors of the modern age in Germany. In addition to animal sculptures, his work focused mainly on the human nude, and his study of ancient Greek sculpture was central to his artistic development.
The exhibition at Haus Beda in Bitburg features bronzes by Marcks spanning seven decades. They include significant pieces such as Gefesselter Prometheus (Prometheus Bound) (1948) and his last major work, Prometheus mit Adler (Prometheus and the Eagle) (1981), which he completed just a short time before his death. In addition to this ancient material, the artist was intensely preoccupied with the tragic figure of Orpheus. The Orpheus woodcut series (1946) vividly portrays the fate of its hero, who was also the subject of Marcks’ larger-than-life bronze statue entitled Orpheus, created in 1959. The sixth cast of this bronze has stood in the atrium of Haus Beda in Bitburg since 1984. This catalogue provides a comprehensive insight into Marcks’ work, starting with his relationship with the sculptures of antiquity.