Homme passant la porte

A man pushes through the gate

At the corner of Stechbahn and Poststrasse: a bronze sculpture by the French sculptor Jean Ipoustéguy (born 1920), with the title "Homme passant la porte" (A man pushes through the gate).

This artwork dating from 1966 is owned by the Sparkasse Bank, Lower Saxony and has stood on this site since 1992.

References to classical mythology help to encapsulate the meaning of this statue, which symbolises dying as a conscious act, in contrast to the modern phenomenon, the senseless, rushing ever forward in which the person is surprised by death. The head of a dog points to the hellhound Cerberos and the coin in the man's hand points to the Obolos - the coin that had to be given to the ferryman for the transport across the Styx to the realm of Hades, God of the Dead. Knots on the back of the head indicate remnants of freshly cut hair; Hades's wife, Persephone, would cut the hair of some of those who came to the Underworld.

Spiritual contexts are captured in plastic form: Ipoustéguy is considered one of the most important representatives of New Realism in sculpture.