Der Trauernde (Gebeugter Mann) / The Mourner (Hunched Man)

The bronze statue of The Mourner was unveiled in 1955 as a “memorial and monument to the people that died or went missing from the city of Soest during the last war.” Robert Ittermann’s sculpture depicts a young athletic-looking man with his legs slightly bent in a seated position and his head and upper body slumped forward. His hands rest on one of his ankles, so that the body draws a full circle. In addition to a moment of weakness and despair, this work also shows the man turning away from the outside world, which goes hand in hand with deep sadness. Although Ittermann’s sculpture seems naturalistic, or even classical, it lacks any heroic appearance akin to those works propagated before and during the war. Round and soft shapes dominate the work, and it has a gentle and emotional expression. Naked and lacking any attributes that would place him in a historical context, he is a timeless depiction of grief as an inevitable consequence of war.

Reference:
www.skulpturenverzeichnis-soest.de
Sculpture Guide: Moderne Soester Skulpturen. 39 Kunstwerke in zwei Altstadtrundgängen, Nr. 15