Intended as the final sheet of the cycle A Weavers’ Revolt
This etching was designed by Käthe Kollwitz as the seventh and last sheet of her cycle A Weavers’ Revolt. As the final piece, it provides a concluding commentary on the events in the preceding six art works.
Upon showing the graphic cycle to the art critic Julius Elias, Kollwitz followed his suggestion and refrained from publishing the final etching together with the other pieces in the series.
“In the winter of 1897 to 1898, Mrs. Kollwitz appeared at my house to show me a work of seven sheets that had matured in secret, to hear my opinion and to ask my advice. […] It was the Weavers’ Revolt. I saw and was overwhelmed. […]
So, it was probably a misguided side step to conclude this modern historical tragedy of social life with a symbolism that is not life. […] It was obvious that the realism of the final piece would bring a false tone into the poetic worldliness of the complex, inwardly intergrown sequence of scenes; […] And on my advice, the just weaver’s struggle […] remained for itself, summarized, unified — in chiaroscuro, grandiose; a modern heroic song.”
Julius Elias, Käthe Kollwitz. In: Art and Artists, monthly journal for art and crafts, Berlin, volume XV, 1917, issue XI (August), p. 540–549.
