Who is Käthe Kollwitz?

Käthe Kollwitz, original name Käthe Schmidt, (born July 8, 1867, Königsberg, East Prussia [now Kaliningrad, Russia]—died April 22, 1945, near Dresden, Germany), German graphic artist and sculptor who was an eloquent advocate for victims of social injustice, war, and inhumanity.

Why did Kathe Kollwitz use black and white?

Biography Printmaking allowed Kollwitz to work in an expressive style, using a bold contrast of black and white to create works of social and political commentary which were cheap to produce in multiples, allowing Kollwitz’s work to reach more people.

Why did Kollwitz use the subject of mothers in many of her artworks?

The theme of mothers occupied the artist’s work, from her early social justice imagery to her explorations of war, grief, and the less visible consequences of conflict. Here, Kollwitz illustrated the predicament and psychological toll of sons enlisting or being drafted into war on the mothers they left behind.

Why did Kollwitz use printmaking?

Bucking usual artistic trends, Kollwitz adopted printmaking as her primary medium, and drawing from her own socialist and anti-war sentiments, she harnessed the graphic and expressive powers of the medium to present to the public an unvarnished look at the root causes and long-lasting effects of war.

Käthe Kollwitz, née Schmidt (German pronunciation: [kɛːtə kɔlvɪt͡s]), (8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) was a German artist, who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including The Weavers and The Peasant War, depict the effects of poverty,…

Why did Käthe Kollwitz use self-portraits?

All her life Käthe Kollwitz used this artistic genre for self-reflexion. Self-portraits also played a similarly important role in the work of some of her contemporaries such as Lovis Corinth, Edvard Munch, Max Beckmann and Otto Dix. What is striking, though, is that unlike her fellow artists, Kollwitz created hardly any full-length self-portraits.

What inspired Kollwitz to become a painter?

The etchings of Klinger, their technique and social concerns, were an inspiration to Kollwitz. At the age of seventeen, Kollwitz became engaged to Karl Kollwitz, a medical student. In 1888, she went to Munich to study at the Women’s Art School, where she realized her strength was not as a painter, but a draughtsman.