Public Art
Karl Hartung
Der Heilende – der Geheilte – der Kranke (the Healer - the Cured - the Sick),1955/56
Bronze, 210 × 600 × 40 cm
This work by Karl Hartung, created in 1955/56 was also called "Das Leid und das Helfen" (suffering and helping) and was the result of a "Kunst am Bau" (art for buildings) competition. In particuar, it is a successful example of early 'art for buildings' projects. From a thematic point of view, this work perfectly fits to its designated location. Entering the hospital, the sick are supposed to receive a comforting feeling of courage and hope.
The upright figure on the left represents the healer. His tall, vertical shape is strongly emphasized by the deep grooves in the surface of the bronze. The figure on the right, completely lying in the horizontal plane
- only horizontal notches, "earth parallels" in the body surface - represents the opposite figure to the vertical one: the sick.
The lightly elevated figure in the middle, combines both opposing postures and surface indentations as well as contrasting principles in diagonals and angles: head, arms and legs are partially raised, angled. This intermediate stage of formal principles clarifies the implied effect of the cured one. If you read the sculpture from right to left, a sequence of a rising human, gradually getting up from the sickbed becomes visible, and in the end, there is the healer, represented as a powerfully stretched figure.
The artisitic phenomenon that Hartung wanted to solve in this arrangement of sculptures is that of the "vertical and horizontal structures" which themselves transmit relevant content-related meanings. Also in the plaster cast exhibited on the ground floor of the hospital, the design principle can be easily understood.