- De
- En
in Berlin
Berliner Unterschleuse (ca. 1850–1936)
Landwehr Canal, Berlin-Tiergarten
Since 1941: New building
Anton Kerschbaumer, Schleuse II (Tiergarten, Berlin), 1919, Brücke-Museum
Berlin Unterschleuse, 1912, photo: Waldemar Titzenthaler, Landesarchiv Berlin, F Rep. 290 (09) No. II2986
“Drawing properly is awful — stupefaction! Most of all, one should try to bring out what one sees personally, what strikes one first, so work quickly! Look sensually!”
Anton Kerschbaumer, diary entry from 15 February 1908
Throughout his life, Anton Kerschbaumer captured his surroundings in paintings, drawings and prints. Upon returning to Berlin from his military service during World War I, he was repeatedly drawn to the Tiergarten in search of motifs. The bridges and sluices of the Landwehr Canal in particular inspired him to create new works. One example of this is the lithograph Schleuse II, in which he depicts the so-called Unterschleuse (lower sluice). Built together with the Oberschleuse (upper sluice) in Kreuzberg in the 1840s, it compensates for varying water levels in the Spree and Landwehrkanal to accommodate the increased shipping traffic. The facility was rebuilt in 1941, and the current version no longer corresponds to the form that Kerschbaumer artistically documented in 1919.
Valentina Bay
