The dominant theme in the work of Gerhard Marcks is the human being - with all his small and big worries, joy and suffering. His sculptures express a deep understanding of and interest in people. He countered the dictum of post-war art to create only the abstract with his figures: "It is not at all the essence to be contemporary, nor to astound one's fellow human beings with sought-after originality. Sculpture is a matter of weights and proportions, of form wrested from chaos. There is no "new". ...art is not for distraction, but for collection. It doesn't thrive on mass. Therefore, even her disciple must remain lonely, no matter how much he loves the world around him."