Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) occupies a unique and historically significant position in German modernism, distinguished both by the emotional intensity of her graphic work and by her institutional achievements in a period often resistant to female professional authority. Working across printmaking, drawing, and sculpture, she became the first woman elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts, and subsequently, the first to receive honorary professor status—a powerful recognition of her undeniable technical mastery.

Although she experimented with painting, Kollwitz’s reputation is secured by her prodigious output in printmaking. Active between 1892 and 1910 within this collection’s scope, she rigorously employed lithography and etching to document the unforgiving social realities faced by the German working class. Her early focus centered on the profound effects of poverty, hunger, and war, themes powerfully articulated in the famous cycles The Weavers and The Peasant War. Works such as Six People at a Table by Lamplight and the foundational studies for A Weavers’ Revolt, including Study for Marching Weavers (plate 4), showcase her initial, stark commitment to realism.

Over time, Kollwitz's style evolved, transforming her approach from direct documentation to universal expression. While rooted in observation, her later compositions utilized simplified forms and heightened emotional weight, leading critics to associate her work more closely with early German Expressionism. This shift allowed her images to move beyond specific political protest and achieve a deeper, more enduring resonance regarding the nature of human suffering.

The unsparing, direct nature of Kollwitz’s subject matter lent her works immediate authority, ensuring their museum-quality permanence. She stands apart from many contemporaries whose work relied on intellectual abstraction; Kollwitz communicated with raw, immediate power, a difficult feat when dealing with the heavy trauma of war and deprivation. It is a fortunate benefit to scholars and enthusiasts that much of her graphic output is now in the public domain, making high-quality prints and downloadable artwork widely accessible. Her legacy confirms that few artists have managed to infuse social commentary with such enduring human empathy while simultaneously breaking institutional barriers.