Bread must be bread, wine must taste like wine. The portrait of a man, of a woman, must be a likeness and a vision, if it is to have information and a message for future generations. Breker has this gift. The portrait which is formed by his hand tells us who this form is as a person as well as the intellectual capability, the sensitivity and the secrets that person holds. Prejudice against a portrait in the classical tradition is dangerous.
Portraits are like a book.
We can read them, provided that the observer understands the language in which the book was written. Clarity of language and form has never been missing in Breker's works. The simple style of his sentences reinforce their meaning. Honesty and openness surprise and impress the visitor simultaneously. I can fully understand why, again and again, young people and the younger generation can relate to an artist who speaks so little of himself.