Biography

Born in Duisburg in Germany, Lehmbruck studied in nearby Düsseldorf from 1895 to 1907. His early work was influenced by Rodin, but his mature work owes more to Aristide Maillol. Lehmbruck lived in Paris from 1911 until 1914 when, owing to the outbreak of war, he had to return to Germany. He worked in a military hospital and, during the latter stages of the war, experienced intervals of severe depression. He took his own life in 1919, aged just thirty-eight. Despite his relatively short career, Lehmbruck's reputation as a German expressionist sculptor is equal to that of Ernst Barlach.