Self-portrait
by Kathe Kollwitz, charcoal and graphite, 141/2x 111/2. Collection National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
"In her self-portraits, Kollwitz always seemed like she was emerging out of some morass," comments Rubenstein. "It's as if she was achieving some clarity from within some kind of confusion."


Kathe Kollwitz (1867~1945) saw much suffering and depicted it with an empathy rarely rivaled. Her husband was a doctor for the poor in Berlin, which likely played a role in her socialist sympathies. Losing her son in World War I prompted a lengthy depression. She also lost a grandson in World War II. As a result, her heartbreaking images of mothers crying over deceased infants strike a resonating chord.

"And she was such a great drafts-man," says Rubenstein. "Kollwitz could do so much with simple shapes. Over here may be a few wispy marks signifying hair, and then - boom, you are riveted right into that eye with a few strong lines."

Kollwitz was primarily a graphic artist, confining her work largely to black-and-white imagery. "Her bold, graphic style reflects the immense human pain and suffering of the underprivileged," comments Eitel-Porter. "That's the basis of her subject matter. The world she depicts is veiled in shadow; only rarely are touches of color introduced." Echoes Rubenstein, "With such simplicity, with such economy of means, she communicated great sympathy. She could make an incredible human statement with just burnt wood [charcoal] on paper."


Resource
Catalogue of the Complete Graphic Work of Kathe Kollwitz, by August Klipstein (Oak Knoll Press, New Castle, Delaware)
Kathe Kollwitz Drawings, by Herbert Bittner (Thomas Yoseloff, New York, New York)

Home Worker by Kathe Kollwitz, charcoal on yellowish paper, 227/8 x 175/8. Collection unknown.

Woman at Cradle II
by Kathe Kollwitz, 1897, sand-ground etching worked over with green and yellow chalk, 11x 53/4. Collection Staatliche Kunstsammlungen der DDR, Dresden, Germany.