Further Artist Research 2 : Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz was born in a socialist family in Königsberg, East Prussia, in 1867.Her father was adamant that she should pursue an artistic career and encouraged her abilities by sending her to the best local instructors before enrolling her in art institutions in Berlin and Munich. A Weavers' Revolt (1893–1977), the topic of Kollwitz's most well-known series, was inspired by the inadequate working conditions of the time. Through her husband Karl's work as a doctor in the neighborhood, Kollwitz saw directly the effects of poverty, which inspired many of her works of art. 

 

Self-portrait 1889 - Käthe Kollwitz

“I was gripped by the full force of the proletarian’s fate,” she wrote in her diary; pondering why she was drawn to life’s horrors, she concluded “the joyous side simply did not appeal to me”. I find her creative process and the original methods she used to create her dramatic and intensely sentimental artworks to be remarkable. It is clear from looking at her work that she had a unique style that captures and involves the viewer on various levels.

Kollwitz's great attention to detail is one feature that particularly stays with me. Her marks and drawings are exceptionally precise and difficult, demonstrating her technical skill. Moreover, I am attracted by the precisely detailed lines and textures that give her subjects life. Kollwitz's figures feel immensely authentic and relatable because of her thorough research of human anatomy and face expressions, which allows her to portray a variety of emotions.

Käthe Kollwitz noted in her diary in 1920, "I felt that I have no right to withdraw from the responsibility of being an advocate," "It is my duty to speak out about men's interminable, mountain-high sufferings," she said. Kollwitz's collection of work is a sharp portrayal of everyday injustice: her etchings and drawings of men and women at work are indictments of capitalism's toll on working-class lives. Kollwitz, unusually for a female artist, was praised internationally during her own lifetime.

Along with her skill as an artist, Kollwitz's use of light and shadow gives her artwork a sense of depth and perspective. She manipulates the light to produce a dramatic interaction between light and dark that enhances the paintings' emotional effect. To convey various storylines and elicit certain moods, she delicately positions her figures and other frame components. Kollwitz's compositions are dramatic and well created, whether it's the positioning of an upset mother holding her child or the positioning of a group of workers standing together. 

Women with dead child 1903 - Käthe Kollwitz

Additionally, Kollwitz's choice of media, such as sketching, adds to the unpolished and passionate nature of her works of art. These results in bold lines and textures that give her work a sense of timeliness and intensity.

Death and Woman 1910 - Käthe Kollwitz

Both Abedin and Kollwitz works shows the sufferings of the people around them in their residing country and it is quite interesting for the viewers and me to see those paintings and understand the emotion and scenario behind those storytelling artwork. People now can know the back story, thanks to their dedication and hard work in doing those painting and give a chance to the future generation to know the sufferings of famine and poverty from the last century.

References:

Royal Academy of Arts (no date) Meet the artist: Käthe Kollwitz: Blog. Available at: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/ra-magazine-francesca-wade-kathe-kollowitz-artist (Accessed: 29 May 2023).

About us - käthe kollwitz museum köln (2023) About us – Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln. Available at: https://www.kollwitz.de/en/about-us (Accessed: 29 May 2023).

Käthe Kollwitz: Moma (2023) The Museum of Modern Art. Available at: https://www.moma.org/artists/3201 (Accessed: 29 May 2023).