Drawn to the ground, the Kauernde invites contemplation. This sculpture, also known as Hockende, graces Wartburgplatz. The Kauernde is a remarkable piece of art. It offers a natural connection between art and nature because it has no plinth.
Katharina Singer-Szelinski, the artist, created the Kauernde in 1956. Singer-Szelinski predominantly portrayed women in her sculptures. Men appeared only occasionally in her work. The Kauernde shares a visual language with her 1955 memorial for Berlin’s Trümmerfrauen in Hasenheide.
In 1956, the district of Schöneberg commissioned the Kauernde from the artist. A bronze cast of the 22 cm model was in the artist’s possession in 2008.
The Kauernde presents a crouching female figure. She has a cap-like hairstyle. She wears a long skirt. The skirt covers her tucked legs. The Kauernde’s head turns to the right. Her right hand rests on her left thigh. The woman supports herself on the ground with her left hand. This graceful Kunststein figure embodies the typical stylization and abstraction of the 1950s Western culture.
The Kauernde is made of Kunststein. Iron reinforces the structure. The figure was cast. Sadly, the Kauernde shows damage. Frost has caused damage on the back of the head.
Another Kauernde exists by Georg Kolbe. Kolbe’s Kauernde is a female nude. She sits in a complex pose. Her legs are drawn up. Her feet are crossed. The left arm is around the left leg. The right shoulder is turned forward. The right forearm rests in front of the right lower leg. A square base of reddish sandstone slabs supports her.
Kolbe created the model for this bronze sculpture around 1925. The casting happened later, in 1935. In 1936, the bronze Kauernde was displayed at the Jubilee Exhibition. It was part of the Berlin Academy of the Arts.
The Galerie Cassirer first displayed Kolbe’s Kleine Kauernde in 1925. It was titled Brunnenfigur. It was part of a fountain composition. The banker Hugo Simon commissioned it. The fountain stood behind Simon’s villa in Tiergarten. The villa and fountain were destroyed in World War II. In 1979, the fountain was reconstructed. It was a gift to an old people’s home. The Georg-Kolbe-Museum funded it.
Kolbe also created a smaller Kauernde. The small sculpture has great clarity. It arose during World War I. Despite its symmetry, the figure doesn’t appear artificial. The backward-thrown head and the tense facial expression shows feeling.
In 1919, the Galerie Ferdinand Möller took over distribution rights for Georg Kolbe’s works. The Kauernde was first shown there. It was an exhibition with works by Richard Scheibe and Gerhard Marcks. In 1940, Kolbe decided on a second edition. Only three casts were made during World War II.
The Kauernde on Wartburgplatz, damaged yet dignified, stands as a testament to artistic expression. It also embodies resilience through challenging times.