Henry Moore @museum.de

Goslarer Krieger – Goslar Warrior is the name of this bronze by the British artist Henry Moore. A larger-than-life body lies on the ground. The strong torso is attempting to rise, the head rears up. But the body, as portrayed here, is littered with injuries. There are cavities where limbs should be attached. Only a single leg is extended. It supports the warrior's only weapon, a large shield.

Henry Moore's Goslar Warrior doesn’t convey the image of a heroic fighter. The soldier has fallen. The surface is covered in nicks and furrows, the ribs protrude. This is no triumphant war hero; this is about defeat, about the existential question of life and death.

Moore himself carefully selected the site for the sculpture. Goslar Warrior is in the immediate vicinity of the Imperial Palace, albeit in a quiet place behind the Kaiserpfalz, while at the front, the mighty emperors Barbarossa and Wilhelm the First are celebrated with equestrian statues.

Henry Moore became the first recipient of the Goslar Kaiserring in 1975. Looking back, it was a great stroke of luck that such a major artist should accept the award right at the beginning. Today, roughly half a century later, the Kaiserring is one of the most prestigious art prizes in the world and is annually awarded to an important contemporary artist right here, at the Imperial Palace in Goslar.