Wilhelm Lehmbruck as Printmaker at MMK Passau: In-Depth Work Examination

Line, Light, Lehmbruck: Printmaking that quietly gets under your skin

This exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art Wörlen Passau opens a rarely illuminated chapter of modernity: Wilhelm Lehmbruck, who became famous as a sculptor, is to be newly discovered as a printmaker. Over 100 sheets from the Zerres collection, along with selected small sculptures, create an exhibition atmosphere where the contemplation of works, art history, and aesthetic experience intertwine.

From Sculpture to Plate: the Poetics of Drypoint

Centrally featured are drypoint etchings and lithographs, whose brittle blacks, velvety edges, and probing line work transmit Lehmbruck’s expressive drive onto the surface. Extended proportions, contemplative postures, existential calm – motifs that shape his sculpture condense on paper into silent, penetrating icons of modernity.

Art Historical Context: Expression and Sensation

Lehmbruck (1881–1919), exhibited internationally and now centrally anchored in the Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg, is considered an important protagonist of classical modernism. His Kneeling Figure, the Seated Youth, or Seated Youth represent an art movement between symbolism and expressionism. The Passau exhibition places the graphics into this overarching work and makes developmental arcs visible – from early, Rodinesque studies to reduced late sheets from World War I.

Education and Mediation: Learning to See with Paper

The curation relies on precise hanging and a calm rhythm of the spaces. Series of works allow for comparative observation of line, surface, and negative space. Complementary offers such as after-work tours and workshops deepen the art experience and promote cultural education; group offers and special tours can be booked through the museum.

Material, Space, Resonance

The reduced materiality of printmaking – copper plate, needle, paper – sharpens the perception of nuances: the texture of the paper, the light in the gray, the tension between white and line. In the spatial effect, the sheets become silent resonators, in which Lehmbruck's humanistic visual language reverberates.

Visitors' Voices

The reactions of visitors are clear: The Lehmbruck exhibition delights art enthusiasts. On Instagram, one reads enthusiasm about the fine line poetry, on Facebook praise for the concentrated curation and the opportunity to discover the printwork independently.

Conclusion

Those who appreciate the quiet intensity of modernity experience here a concentrated art experience: printmaking as a space for contemplation about body, mind, and form. The exhibition offers aesthetic experiences beyond spectacle – an invitation to read Lehmbruck anew and see the originals.

Official Channels of Museum of Modern Art Wörlen Passau:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.de/mmkpassau
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mmkpassau
• YouTube: No official profile found
• Website: https://mmk-passau.de/ausstellungen/wilhelm-lehmbruck-als-druckgrafiker-werke-aus-privatbesitz

Sources:

• Museum of Modern Art Wörlen Passau – Exhibition
• Museum of Modern Art Wörlen – Visiting, Opening Hours, Prices
• Passau Tourism – Museum of Modern Art Wörlen
• Encyclopaedia Britannica – Wilhelm Lehmbruck
• National Gallery of Art – The Art of Wilhelm Lehmbruck
• Art Institute of Chicago – Bust of Kneeling Girl
• The Met – Kneeling One, Drypoint 1911