Käthe Kollwitz

by Josephine Gabler

A richly illustrated survey of the work of one of the best-known German artists of the twentieth century.
 
Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) was one of the best-known German artists of the twentieth century. The unmistakable, touching language of her graphic and sculptural works is quickly grasped across cultures, enabling her work to be celebrated around the world.
 
Kollwitz debuted her graphic cycle “Ein Weberaufstand,” for which she drew inspiration from Gerhart Hauptmann’s drama of the same name, at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition in 1898. It was a great success, even as it caused a stir among the authorities because of its socially critical message. Outraged by the social ills of her time, Kollwitz dedicated her life to depicting people and giving a voice to the misery and grief of the poor and underprivileged in her works. Equally ingenious in terms of expression and artistic implementation, she took up themes such as farewell and death, peace, and the suffering of war in her graphics and sculptures. But she also offered intimate depictions of a mother and child, as well as self-portraits full of strength and beauty. This volume provides a brief but comprehensive overview of the artist’s life and oeuvre.

72 pages, Hardcover

Published February 23, 2024

Reviews

[Yorgos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slim 5x8 hardback is a good little thing. Cheap, but well-printed on heavy glossy paper, this book has 37 color plates of Kollwitz's work, of which 2 are two-page spreads. The quality of these prints is excellent: they look good even under the magnifying glass. On the other hand, many of the plates are so small that they literally require a magnifying glass to make out sometimes important compositional elements. This tragically includes the Weaver's Revolt and Peasant's War cycles, where some incredibly sophisticated etching techniques are at play, but just cannot be made out at these sizes. The Ploughmen, sheet 1 from Peasant's war, is especially brutal, printed 2⅛" x 2⅛" here when the original is over a foot across. It's also worth saying that none of the cycles are presented here in full, which is a real shame. The Death cycle only gets a single entry, notably not the self-portrait.

But this little book can only do so much in 60 pages. The text is a great aide in pointing to works that there simply was not space to show in such a little volume. And though no time at all is devoted to the finer points of her technique, the broader course of Kollwitz's career is well-treated, along with her larger-scale interests. Gabler is at pains to be as politically neutral as possible, by which I mean that she has absolutely nothing to say about Kollwitz's leftism other than to say in various ways that she was moved by the plight of the poor. And Gabler chooses a quote by Anna Plehn to illustrate the reaction to her masterpiece Woman With Dead Child ("I don't think many will see this print without first feeling a violent shock run through their limbs"), instead of the vastly superior and more affecting quote from Kollowitz's friend Jeep ("A mother, animal-like, naked, [...] seeks with her eyes, with her lips, with her breath, to swallow back into herself the disappearing life that once belonged to her womb").

As for Kollwitz herself, I have many thoughts, but it is now 2:52 am on the first day of Sukkot, and I have been partying with my tribe, and tomorrow I fly, so I will save something longer for perhaps the next Kollwitz book, or for Glasgow.

[Concha C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting biography of the most famous German female artist in the 20th century. Her drawings, etchings, lithographs and sculptures share a concern for social justice and a call for peace to prevent the harm any war causes

[Frog Squared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kollwitz is a stellar artist with an interesting life but the author is just not my favorite. Bit wordy