Kollwitz-Digital
Kollwitz presented something surprising in two respects at the spring exhibition of the Freie Secession in 1916. The renowned graphic artist exhibited her first sculptural work, with which she approached a rather unusual motif for her. “After the small work I made in the summer, of which you saw a plaster cast, the small love […]
In 1904, Käthe Kollwitz undertook a two-month trip to Paris with the aim of learning sculptural techniques. As an established artist, Käthe Kollwitz expanded her artistic repertoire to include sculptural work, and in 1904, while studying at the Académie Julian in Paris, she visited the eminent sculptor Auguste Rodin in his studio. During Auguste Rodin’s […]
Kollwitz’s works for the magazine Simplicissimus were distinguished by their ability to depict complex social problems in simple and vivid images and testify to her ongoing preoccupation with the problems and hardships of the proletarian urban population. “Been to Mrs. Becker’s. The three-month-old child lies in the carriage, haggard and covered with flies. Trudchen still […]
An important platform for Käthe Kollwitz’s work was the magazine “Simplicissimus” from 1908. It was one of Germany’s best-known satirical magazines and was published from 1896 to 1944. The magazine was famous for its critical attitude towards political and social grievances and used art, caricatures and satire to draw attention to them. The Munich magazine […]
What is provenance research? Dealing with the museum’s own collection is an important area of work done at museums. This includes knowledge about the origin of the objects in the museum’s collection. The origin of objects, the so-called provenance, is not always completely understood. At the beginning of her artistic career, Käthe Kollwitz mainly sold […]
When Germany entered World War I in August 1914, many families went in a period of anxiety that all too often turned into a time of mourning. At the end of October, the Kollwitz family received news of the death of their son Peter, who had fallen as a war volunteer on the Belgian front. […]
A memorial to the fallen volunteers Soon after receiving news of Peter’s death, Kollwitz conceptualized a memorial to fallen volunteers in honor of her son and his many friends who did not return to their families from the First World War. However, many years were to pass from the idea to the final design. The […]
At the end of the 14th century, the first sheets were produced using this printing technique. The motifs were used for leaflets, playing cards or for images of saints. Since the invention of letterpress printing, woodblock printing had become the most suitable method for illustrating books. In one operation, the printing block could be inserted […]
Posters and flyers In her extensive poster work, Käthe Kollwitz confronted a wide variety of contemporary problems that had been brought to her by various initiatives. In this medium, too, she invented motifs that addressed grievances in a timeless pictorial language and are thus still understood by the viewer over a hundred years later. The […]
On the history of a poster Behind every work of art is a history of its creation and also, usually, of its collection, which is not always known. Our museum collection contains the poster Mothers, share your Abundance!, a work by Käthe Kollwitz whose complete history we owe to the commitment and generosity of Marie-Elise […]
