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The Conceptual Framework and Artist Practice

Käthe Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor influenced by her experiences through World Wars I and II. She was brought up around her father's portraits of peasants and continued focusing on this theme. Her artworks expressed the feelings of her era, particularly the effects of war on families and friends. Personally impacted by the deaths of her brother, sister, and son in the wars, Kollwitz memorialized their losses in pieces like "The Grieving Parents" and her "War" series dedicated to widows and grieving mothers. She worked primarily in etching, sculpture, and woodcuts to convey emotion and memorialize loss through her art.

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469 views

The Conceptual Framework and Artist Practice

Käthe Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker, and sculptor influenced by her experiences through World Wars I and II. She was brought up around her father's portraits of peasants and continued focusing on this theme. Her artworks expressed the feelings of her era, particularly the effects of war on families and friends. Personally impacted by the deaths of her brother, sister, and son in the wars, Kollwitz memorialized their losses in pieces like "The Grieving Parents" and her "War" series dedicated to widows and grieving mothers. She worked primarily in etching, sculpture, and woodcuts to convey emotion and memorialize loss through her art.

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NegativeBeauty
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Käthe Kollwitz

The Conceptual Framework


and Artist Practice
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz
WORLD
Kollwitz was a German painter, printmaker and sculptor. She was influenced by and lived through World
War I and World War II, as well as the state of peasants and treatment of people in the 20 th Century. She
was brought up around her father painting the portraits of fishermen and peasants; this theme continued
on in her work. She was influenced by Max Klinger, and Frans Masereel.

ARTWORK
Kollwitz’s artworks consisted of paintings, etchings and sculptures. She wished to express the feelings and
emotions of the era and subject matter that it contained. Specifically War and the effects of it on family
and friends.

AUDIENCE ARTIST
The Audience of Kollwitz work ranges from people involved in Kollwitz was born in Russia and later moved to Germany with
the war, family and friends who have lost people in the war. The her family, her brother and sisters were killed young which had
theme of war is always present from early times until present; a major impact on her life including an anxiety disorder. Her son
war has always been raging. Kollwitz wishes to express the side was later to commence service in World War II and tragically die
that is not explored often; the effect of war on the family and over there, Kollwitz was deeply affected by this and her works
friends. Not only are the army officers affected after the war, clearly came to show this. ‘The Grieving Parents’, was a
with PTSD, but also the family. They lose people, sons, memorial to Kollwitz' son Peter which came to reside in the War
daughters and friends and this is something that everybody can Cemetery of Vladslo in Germany. The noticeable series of works
relate to. Everybody has somebody that they care about and entitled ‘War’ included a collection of works dedicated to
Kollwitz uses this to her advantage. widowed wives and distraught mothers.
Käthe Kollwitz

Artist Practice
Kollwitz worked with etching, sculpture and wood prints. She drew
inspiration from the world around her and expressed her opinion and views
of it through her work; one of the most predominate was the theme of War
and loss. Kollwitz’s father recognised her talent at the young age of 12 and
enrolled her for lessons in drawing and plaster work. At sixteen she began
making drawings of the sailors and peasants she saw in her father's offices.
Kollwitz’s art was affected by the deaths in her family and eventually the death
of her son. This led her to explore her emotions, feelings and thoughts through
her art. Sometimes the art would serve as a memorial such as with ‘The
Grieving Parents’ and deep emotional expression in her ‘War’ series. Kollwitz
worked in the medium of sculpture and woodcuts in this area. She would work
from her heart and not plan many of her woodcut work: letting the emotions
carve straight into the wood. The sculpture however was planned and
executed carefully. Her technique is considered to be traditional.

Hollwitz’s work were strongly reminiscent of her experiences in life and aided
by the use of a medium that helped convey an atmosphere that was sombre
and full of death.
Käthe Kollwitz

Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A4the_Kollwitz

http://www.missomnimedia.com/2010/01/art-herstory-kathe-kollwitz/

http://www.yourdictionary.com/biography/kathe-kollwitz

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