One of the principle artists of the German Expressionist movement, Ernst Barlach was a sculptor, writer and draftsman.
Although Barlach was a supporter of the war in the years leading up to the First World War, his participation therein brought about a distinct change of heart and he became well known for his sculptures protesting against the war.
With a focus on faces and hands, Barlach's figures are often swathed in heavy drapery, similar to figures in early Gothic art, replete with emotion and a yearning for spiritual ecstasy.
This masterful sculpture was created in 1922, the same year in which Barlach's first monument, the panel "The Sorrows", was inaugurated at the Nikolai Church in Kiel.