Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945)

1. Kathe Kollwitz(1867-1945) Gigi 7th Hour Art History

2. Time Period • Weimar Period: “The period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic. It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German monarchy was abolished following the nation's defeat in World War I. This first attempt at establishing a liberal democracy in Germany was a time of great tension and inner conflict and, ultimately, failed with the ascent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in 1933” • World War 1: “The background to the long term causes of World War One can be traced back to the end of the C19th. Alliances, broken alliances and German naval expansion all caused much friction in Europe with two camps developing - both of which distrusted the other. The immediate spark of World War One may well have been the murder at Sarajevo but suspicion and mistrust had been growing since 1882.”

3. Artist Reaction • Kathe’s son Peter was killed in World War One and her house had been burned down-after this she vowed to create a memorial for her son • Kathe was always sympathetic to the people living in poverty, a scene she saw everyday of her life-because of this, she created art that they could appreciate and view • Dr. Karl Kollwitz, Kathe’s husband, ran a children’s clinic in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. This environment stemmed the social messages in Kollwitz paintings. • Was taught radical beliefs of religion from her uncles, father and grandfather (who founded the Free Religious Congressional Church); these teachings taught her to suppress her feelings-caused her later in life to avidly express what she had kept in

4. Artist Reaction • “During the period of the Weimar Republic Kollwitz’s status as one of Germany’s great artists at last received official recognition.” • In 1919 she became the first woman to be elected a professor and member of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin, and she became the chair of the graphic arts department in 1928. • “She devoted herself to the cause of social justice and peace, was invited to travel to the Soviet Union in 1927, and received Germany’s highest honor, the Pour le Mérite, in 1929.” • “In the years that followed, her reaction to the war found a continuous outlet; she produced the cycle War in woodcut form”

5. Style and Content • All of the historical events listed in the previous slides contributed to her art and her three major themes: suffering, poverty, and injustice • “Kollwitz’s art was centered on the depiction of humanity and reflected her deep compassion for the poor and her hatred for social injustice and war. The self-portrait and themes of revolution, poverty, motherhood, childhood, and death engaged Kollwitz over her fifty-year career. Her exploration of these universal themes culminated in such works” • “Decided to concentrate upon graphic art.” • “Initially her work was grounded in Naturalism, and later took on Expressionistic qualities” • “Expressionism: style in which the intention is not to reproduce a subject accurately, but instead to portray it in such a way as to express the inner state of the artist. The movement is especially associated with Germany, and was influenced by such emotionally-charged styles as Symbolism, Fauvism, and Cubism.”

6. Inspiration • “Her early artistic development was influenced by the works and writing of the painter and etcher Max Klinger (1857–1920).” • “The Weavers", which dramatized the oppression of the Silesian weavers in Langembielau and their failed revolt in 1842, inspired, the artist ceased work on a series of etchings and produced a cycle of six works on the weavers theme, three lithographs (Poverty, Death, and Conspiracy) and three etchings with aquatint and sandpaper (March of the Weavers, Riot, and The End).”

7. Inspiration • “The Peasants' War was a popular revolt in the Holy Roman Empire in the years 1524/1525. It consisted, of a series of economic as well as religious revolts by peasants, townsfolk and nobles. • “The conflict, which took place mostly in southern, western, and central areas of modern Germany but also affected areas in neighbouring modern Switzerland and Austria, involved at its height in the spring and summer of 1525 an estimated 300,000 peasant insurgents: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising before the 1789 French Revolution. When completed, the Peasant War consisted of pieces in etching, acquatint, and soft ground”

8. Uprising • Classic example of Modernism • Etching • Scene of pain and suffering • Black and white • Blending of the black, white and gray

9. Selbstbildnis • Etching • Facial expression: despair and somber • Black and white • Blending • No sharp lines • Particular pencil strokes

10. Mutter mit Kind auf dem Arm • Etching • Black and white • More defined pencil strokes • Sense of peace and connection • Intense shading

11. Sturm • Black and white • Scene of poverty • Contrast of poor people and nice house • Dramatic pencil strokes

12. Weberzug • War scene • Facial expressions: determined • Shading • Sharp definitive lines • Short pencil strokes

13. Begrüssung • Minimal • Simple background • Family scene • People are content • Messy lines • Dark v. light

14. Mutter mit Zwillingen • Sense of connection between children and mother • Another family scene • Bronze • Mother depicted as caring and loving

15. Die Klage (Zum Gedenken des verstorbenen Ernst Barlach) • Sad and distressed looking • Bronze • Hands look connected to the face • Eye closed to block out pain

16. Which is a Kollwitz?

17. ANSWER • The one of the LEFT • Verbrüderung • Sense of connection with people • Etching • Black and white • Shading • Particular pencil strokes • Not a particularly happy piece, more solemn

18. Bibliography • http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/kollwitz_kathe.html • http://www.artnet.com/PDB/PublicLotDetails.aspx?lot_id=425568293&page=1 • www.brigantine.atlnet.org • faculty.evansville.edu • neo-neocon.blogspot.com • http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0422/is_2_80/ai_54073976 • http://www.rogallery.com/Kollwitz/Kollwitzhm.htm • http://www.germannotes.com/hist_weimar_republic.shtml • http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ww1.htm • http://wwar.com/masters/k/kollwitz-kathe.html • http://www.famsf.org/fam/membership/councils/council_news.asp?newskey=1&councilkey=1 • Britannica Encyclopedia