Käthe Kollwitz: How Heads and Hands Convey Emotion in Her Art
Käthe Kollwitz, who lived from 1867 to 1945, used hands and heads in her artwork to express deep feelings and critique society. Born in Königsberg, East Prussia, she lived through both World Wars and died in exile in Moritzburg, Saxony. Her art career took off in 1884 at a Berlin art school, and she transitioned from oil painting to etching by 1890. While she primarily worked in lithography, a 1920 encounter with Ernst Barlach's woodcuts pushed her to experiment with that medium. Her work often highlights issues like poverty and mortality, featuring exaggerated hands and faceless figures. Key pieces include "Self-portrait with hand to forehead" (1910) and the "War" series (1922-23), along with bronze sculptures like "Lament."
Key facts
- Käthe Kollwitz was born in 1867 in Königsberg, East Prussia, and died in 1945 in Moritzburg, Saxony.
- She began art studies in 1884 at the Zeichen- und Malschule des Vereins der Künstlerinnen in Berlin.
- She abandoned oil painting for etching in 1890.
- After seeing Ernst Barlach's woodcuts in 1920, she turned to woodcuts.
- Her work focuses on poverty, infant mortality, rebellion, and the proletariat.
- She used oversized hands and faces as central expressive elements.
- Her self-portrait 'Self-portrait with hand to forehead' (1910) conveys tension and anxiety.
- The lithograph 'Help Russia' (1921) was a protest against famine.
- The series 'War' (1922-23) includes 'The People,' an antiwar work.
- 'Mary and Elizabeth' (1928) is a woodcut with a traditional pyramidal composition.
- The series 'Death' (1934-37) includes 'The Call of Death,' a self-portrait.
- She created sculptures like 'Lament' in bronze during the 1930s-40s.
- She was forbidden to exhibit or sell her work due to opposing Nazism.
Entities
Artists
- Käthe Kollwitz
- Ernst Barlach
- Auguste Rodin
Institutions
- Zeichen- und Malschule des Vereins der Künstlerinnen
Locations
- Königsberg
- East Prussia
- Germany
- Moritzburg
- Saxony
- Berlin
- Paris