Marcks, Gerhard

Born Feb. 18, 1889, in Berlin. German sculptor (Federal Republic of Germany).

Marcks studied under R. Scheibe in 1907-12 in Berlin. He taught at the Bauhaus (1919-25), the School of Industrial Art in Halle (from 1925; in 1933 he was dismissed by the Nazis), and the School of Art in Hamburg (1946-50). In 1910-20 he came under the influence of A. Maillol and later of W. Lehmbruck. In the 1920’s he began to look to ancient Greek sculpture for inspiration. In his realistic compositions and portraits he seeks to achieve constructive clarity and harmonious coherence of forms (Freya, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Alzina, 1934, and Portrait ofPurrmann, 1963, the R. Hoffmann Gallery in Hamburg; all works in bronze). In the late 1940’s and 1950’s, Marcks created a number of monuments, permeated by the spirit of humanism, to the victims of World War II, as well as works on religious subjects. He is known as a graphic artist (pencil drawings and wood engravings).