Kneeling Woman

work by Lehmbruck

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June 30, 2026

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Wilhelm Lehmbruck's Kneeling Woman (1911) is a significant sculpture characterized by its angular, elongated limbs and a melancholy facial expression. This work, created after Lehmbruck's move to Paris, reflects a shift towards a less naturalistic and more psychologically powerful style, moving away from the influence of Auguste Rodin towards the calmer Classicism of Aristide Maillol. The sculpture's mood suggests a resigned pessimism, a theme that would continue to mark Lehmbruck's mature works. Lehmbruck, a German sculptor, is known for his melancholic sculptures of elongated nudes.1

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Wilhelm Lehmbruck
…powerful with sculptures such as Kneeling Woman (1911). The harmonious repose of this figure’s angular, elongated limbs and her melancholy facial expression suggest a resigned pessimism, an attitude that characterizes Lehmbruck’s mature works.
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…powerful with sculptures such as Kneeling Woman (1911). The harmonious repose of this figure’s angular, elongated limbs and her melancholy facial expression suggest a resigned pessimism, an attitude that characterizes Lehmbruck’s mature works.
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Western sculpture
Avant-garde sculpture (1909–20)
…mature style emerged in the Kneeling Woman (1911) and Standing Youth (1913), in which his gothicized, elongated bodies with their angular posturings and appearance of growing from the earth give expression to his notions of modern heroism. In contrast to this spiritualized view is his The Fallen (1915–16), intended as…
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…mature style emerged in the Kneeling Woman (1911) and Standing Youth (1913), in which his gothicized, elongated bodies with their angular posturings and appearance of growing from the earth give expression to his notions of modern heroism. In contrast to this spiritualized view is his The Fallen (1915–16), intended as…
Read More