Bronze Statue - Wilhelm Lehmbruck - Girl with leaning leg

Modern Reflection in Bronze: Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s “Girl with Leaning Leg” (1910) - Signed

The sculpture titled Girl with Leaning Leg, created in 1910 and signed by Wilhelm Lehmbruck, stands as a poignant embodiment of modern European sculpture at the threshold of expressionism. Cast in rich bronze, this figure captures a deeply introspective moment through a restrained yet evocative pose. The young girl rests her right foot on a raised form that could be a rock or symbolic pedestal, while her elbow finds gentle support upon the knee, her chin leaning into a softly clenched fist. Her gaze, downcast and inward, speaks volumes in silence. This is not merely a representation of the female form but a mirror of modern emotional depth — and it is precisely this psychological presence that distinguishes Wilhelm Lehmbruck among early 20th-century sculptors.

From Duisburg to Berlin: The life of Wilhelm Lehmbruck

Wilhelm Lehmbruck was born on January 4, 1881, in Meiderich/Beeck, a working-class district of Duisburg, Germany. From humble beginnings, he rose to become one of the most sensitive and humanistic sculptors of his generation. After formal studies at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, he later worked in Paris and Berlin, where he absorbed the influences of Auguste Rodin, Aristide Maillol, and the burgeoning modernist movement. The year 1910, when Girl with Leaning Leg was conceived, marked a critical turning point in Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s evolution — a moment when his work began to shift from the anatomical realism of academic tradition to a more spiritual, introspective idiom. He died tragically young in Berlin on March 25, 1919, leaving behind a legacy of works that continue to resonate with timeless psychological intensity.

The expressive poise of the young female figure

Unlike classical depictions of nude femininity which often dwell on surface beauty and idealization, Wilhelm Lehmbruck offers a nuanced vision of the female form that transcends conventional sculpture. The girl is not a passive muse or a stylized Venus. Instead, she is emotionally alive — fully human and utterly modern. The slightly forward tilt of her torso, her thoughtful brow, and the asymmetrical grounding of her feet suggest tension and balance, inner emotion and outer stillness. It is this marriage of vulnerability and vertical strength that elevates the Girl with Leaning Leg to the level of philosophical portraiture. Through bronze, Wilhelm Lehmbruck crafts not only form but sensation.

Form, mass, and movement: A sculptural language in transition

The handling of surface and proportion in this work demonstrates Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s mastery of early modernist plastic vocabulary. Though clearly anatomically observed, the figure is not ruled by anatomical fidelity. Rather, the body appears elongated, the joints softened, the texture of the surface gently worked to blend smoothness with a raw, living quality. This transition from realism toward stylization was a pivotal contribution to modern sculpture, and Girl with Leaning Leg illustrates Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s intuitive grasp of this evolving form language. She is not frozen in her gesture but suspended, as though captured mid-thought — poised between movement and meditation.

An icon of quiet strength and existential beauty

This bronze sculpture emanates a spiritual gravity that is unmistakably Lehmbruckian. The girl’s pose is neither dramatic nor overtly symbolic, and yet her inner life floods outward in waves. The weight of the world seems to rest gently on her young shoulders, but she bears it with grace. This silent dignity is the hallmark of Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s artistic vision — a vision rooted in the emotional terrain of human suffering and transcendence. His figures often appear melancholic, but they are never broken. Instead, they embody a quiet heroism that speaks directly to the human condition.

Created in 1910: A significant year in Lehmbruck’s oeuvre

The year 1910 was an extraordinary moment for Wilhelm Lehmbruck, who was increasingly immersed in the artistic ferment of Paris and Berlin. Working between these cultural capitals, he began to strip away the decorative excess of prior movements and focus on the purity of line and mass. Girl with Leaning Leg is among the earliest of his figures to show this emerging clarity — a sculpture grounded in the real yet yearning for the ideal. It was likely conceived in his Parisian studio, where Wilhelm Lehmbruck encountered fellow artists such as Brâncuși and Modigliani, both of whom, like him, were driven to express emotion through simplified, distilled form.

A signature work in major museum collections

Bronze casts of Girl with Leaning Leg are held today in the permanent collection of the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg, a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of Wilhelm Lehmbruck in his birthplace. The museum itself was named in his honor and houses the most comprehensive body of his work worldwide. The sculpture may also be encountered in curated exhibitions dedicated to early German modernism, especially those focusing on the interplay between psychology and form in pre-war sculpture. The continued exhibition of Girl with Leaning Leg underscores its relevance as a touchstone for both historical understanding and contemporary resonance.

A meditative figure in bronze, forged from modern thought

In Girl with Leaning Leg, we see not only a girl — not only a bronze — but the distilled experience of a new century, marked by both hope and disillusionment. Through her posture, expression, and sculptural presence, she gives voice to a period of transition, when artists like Wilhelm Lehmbruck turned inward to express universal truths. The work invites the viewer to linger, to contemplate, and to engage in dialogue with her silence. As a deeply humanistic creation, this bronze sculpture remains one of the most affecting achievements in the canon of Wilhelm Lehmbruck, a master of modern sculpture whose gentle power endures far beyond his brief life.

Width: 20cm
Height: 61cm
Depth: 13cm
Weight: 8kg
100% Bronze