Barricade after fighting in the Breite Strasse

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Barricade after fighting in the Breite Straße (Eduard Gaertner (1801–1877))
Barricade after fighting in the Breite Strasse
Eduard Gaertner (1801–1877) , 1848
Watercolor pencil drawing on paper
14.7 x 24.7 cm
City Museum Berlin

The watercolor pencil drawing Barricade after fighting in the Breite Straße shows a street view drawn by the architectural painter Eduard Gaertner , which is historically related to the Berlin March Revolution on March 18 and 19, 1848. It is one of the few representations that focus on the barricade as a construction. Most of the other images of the Berlin March Revolution, on the other hand, focus on the fighting itself. The watercolor is counted among the socially critical works of Gaertner and, according to Peter-Klaus Schuster , identifies the artist as one of the “most uncompromising chroniclers” of the revolution.

Historical context and description

For the classification in the complete work see Eduard Gaertner - Zeit der Revolution of 1848/1849 .

The watercolor shows a section of the Breite Strasse , which was captured by the royal troops on March 18, 1848 , before they were withdrawn from Berlin the next day. The Breite Strasse was of great military importance in the battle, as it led to the Berlin City Palace . The royal troops attacked the barricades there with guns. The barricade depicted in the watercolor consists of boards, poles and wooden barrels. The wheel in the center of the picture belongs to an overturned car. The spaces between the barricade are filled with cobblestones. The view falls on the back of the barricade, ie on the former position of the barricade fighters. Apart from a group of men on the right edge of the picture, the street is deserted. In terms of color and contour, the men in the night scene hardly stand out from the ruins of the barricade. The lights in the windows of the apartment buildings on the right are interpreted differently. Christina Klausmann assumes that it is the reflection of fires. Instead, Günther Kaufmann sees in it the purely symbolic glow of memory lamps. The black, red and gold national flag at the top is the only contrast to the otherwise brown and gray background. On the left wall of the house is the inscription: "Night of horror from the 18th to the 19th at 3:48 am" [March 1848]. The artist specifies the exact time of the scene shown. Below are the artist's initials : "EG" for Eduard Gaertner.

interpretation

Unlike most of the illustrations of the revolution, mostly idealizing lithographs , Gaertner's watercolor shows the dark side of the Berlin March Revolution. By refraining from depicting a moving combat action and mainly using dreary colors, according to Günther Kaufmann he depicted the presence of death. At the same time, the picture is a good indication of the "calm after the storm" that prevailed in Berlin immediately after the barricade fight. (according to Christina Klausmann). As a possible eyewitness, Gaertner seemed to be “worried about the destructive potential of the revolution”, according to the art historian Peter-Klaus Schuster . Schuster interprets the black, red and gold national flag as a symbol of the victory of the revolution over the royal soldiers. Because of the lost position of the national flag in the midst of the rubble and the monotony of colors, the flag can also be seen, according to Günther Kaufmann, as an "expression of failed hope". In the end, Gaertner had to find out that the Prussian troops were largely unscathed because of their withdrawal and were only briefly driven out of Berlin. According to Kaufmann, the watercolor is thus a “foretaste of the failure of the revolution”. The art historian Helmut Börsch-Supan gives the watercolor a very personal touch. Gaertner's work was usually characterized by “cleanliness and order”. Deviating from this, the illustration thematizes the chaos of the street, which is in conscious contrast to the evenness of the house facades. As a citizen of Berlin, so Börsch-Supan, Gaertner wanted to express his horror. Thomas W. Gaehtgens thinks it possible that Gaertner sketched the floor plan of the barricade on site and then applied the watercolors in the studio . He therefore rates the watercolor as relatively authentic. During the artist's lifetime, the watercolor remained without public response, as Gaertner kept it in his private possession.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christina Klausmann: Revolutionary Awakening in Germany. In: Lothar Gall (ed.): 1848. Departure to freedom. An exhibition by the German Historical Museum and the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the 1848/49 revolution . Nicolai, Berlin 1998, pp. 115-184, here p. 123.
  2. ↑ Günther Kaufmann: truest conception of the revolutionary events? Berlin barricade pictures from 1848. In: History in science and teaching. (GWU). Volume 56, 2005, No. 7/8, pp. 387-405, here p. 402.
  3. ↑ Christina Klausmann: Revolutionary Awakening in Germany. In: Lothar Gall (ed.): 1848. Departure to freedom. An exhibition by the German Historical Museum and the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the 1848/49 revolution . Nicolai, Berlin 1998, pp. 115-184, here p. 123.
  4. ↑ Peter-Klaus Schuster : The "Linden" as an educational landscape. In: Birgit Verwiebe (Ed.): Catalog. Under the linden trees. Berlin's boulevard in views of Schinkel, Gaertner and Menzel. Berlin 1997, pp. 29-40, here p. 30.
  5. ↑ Günther Kaufmann: truest conception of the revolutionary events? Berlin barricade pictures from 1848. In: History in science and teaching. (GWU). Volume 56, 2005, No. 7/8, pp. 387-405, here p. 402.
  6. ^ Helmut Börsch-Supan : Eduard Gaertner, portrayed habitats. In: Dominik Bartmann (Ed.): Eduard Gaertner, 1801–1877 . Nicolai, Berlin 2001, 13–30, here pp. 15–16.
  7. ↑ Thomas W. Gaehtgens : The revolution of 1848 in European art. In: Dieter Langewiesche (Ed.): The revolutions of 1848 in European history results and aftermath . Oldenbourg, Munich 2000, 91–122, here p. 101.
  8. ↑ Günther Kaufmann: truest conception of the revolutionary events? Berlin barricade pictures from 1848. In: History in science and teaching. (GWU). Volume 56, 2005, No. 7/8, pp. 387-405, here p. 403.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on May 22, 2018 .