KATHE KOLLWITZ:
THE GRAPHIC WORKS

Introduction

This special exhibition features a selection of graphics works by German artist, Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945), spanning the years 1892-1934. Included are total of 55 works: 23 original etchings, lithographs and woodcuts, plus 5 posthumous etchings from the von der Becke Portfolio A, Berlin, c. 1950, 8 photolithograph reproductions from the Curt Valentin portfolio - “Kathe Kollwitz: Ten Lithographs”, New York, 1941, and 19 facsimiles from the Richter Portfolio, c.,1921.

Kathe Schmidt Kollwitz was born into a socially conscious family in Koenigsberg, East Prussia, on July, 8,1867. She was influenced by her father's socialist beliefs and by her grandfather who believed so strongly in the separation of church and state that he founded the first Free Religious Congregation in Germany. Given her progressive background it is not surprising that Kollwitz dedicated her career to working in the most populist of all mediums. Printmaking allowed Kollwitz to make her art available to the public including members of the impoverished working class. She often contributed images to propaganda posters advocating for social equality. In her prolific career she produced over 270 etchings, woodcuts and lithographs dedicated to portraying social messages against the unbearable pain and suffering caused by war and the exploitation of the proletariat.

A major influence on Kollwitz’s style was the naturalism and social commentary found in the work of the important and enigmatic German artist, Max Klinger. In Klinger's famous essay “Painting and Drawing,” he states that “Printmaking and drawing are two techniques which are truly able to express the inner emotions of pain, sorrow and loneliness.” The graphic work done by Kollwitz is a testament to Klinger's statement. Few artists of the twentieth century have created a more powerful emotional language. Her graphic works exemplify the power of art to transform society. They stand as a timeless reminder of the constant human struggle for peace and against oppression.

Kollwitz' best known graphic works are her cycles of etchings, woodcuts and lithographs. In 1893, Kollwitz produced her first cycle, "Die Weberaufstand" (The Weavers' Revolt). The series of six etchings was based on the uprisings of the Silesian weavers in 1844. Following the success and acclaim of her first cycle, Kollwitz followed with a similar historic theme.

The second major cycle from 1902-1908 is called "Bauernkrieg" (Peasants' War). This series of seven etchings was based on the 1524-1525 peasant uprisings in southern and central Germany. Kollwitz depicts the peasants rallying to fight their oppressors for more equitable living conditions and documents the tragic effects of their defeat. "Black Anna," the heroine portrayed in Plate 3 ''Beim Denglen" (Sharpening the Scythe), exemplifies the tender yet courageous character of many of Kollwitz' female protagonists.

The third cycle, 1922-1923, entitled "Krieg" (War) consisted of seven woodcuts. This cycle was inspired by the senseless pain, suffering and grief fell throughout Europe during the First World War. Unlike the previous cycles, the ''Krieg" cycle was very personal for Kollwitz. She was deeply affected by the loss of her son Peter who was killed on the Flanders battlefield in 1914. The stark and bold characteristics of the woodcut medium emphasize the intensity of her message.

Kollwitz' fourth and final cycle, "Tod" (Death) consisted of eight lithographs executed between 1934-1935. At this time, Kollwitz was facing her own mortality and the inevitable rise of the dictatorial Nazi regime. These lithographs represent eight conversations with a personified figure of death. In the mid-1930s Hitler's regime blacklisted Kollwitz and some of her contemporaries claiming their art was degenerate and unsuitable for public view. The Nazi authorities forced her to resign from her post as a professor at the Prussian Academy of Arts. Refusing to submit to the Nazis' demands for propaganda, they excluded her from all official public exhibitions.

Kollwitz remained in Germany until her death on April 22, 1945, just days before the end of World War II.

The von der Becke Portfolio A, Berlin, c.1950. In 1930 Alexander von der Becke purchased the entire stock of Kollwitz's prints, her plates, woodblocks and lithographic stones from Emil Richter. Until that time,Von der Becke was Kollwitz' publisher, but without exclusive rights. The publishing of her works at "Verlag des graphischenWerkes von Kathe Kollwitz" continued from 1931-1941 when the Gestapo forbid further activity, closed the publishing studio and seized existing stock. During World War II almost all Kollwitz' lithographic stones were destroyed and 30 plates were damaged from aerial bombardments. Between1946-48 von der Becke had the etching plates restored and around 1950 published two portfolios of Kollwitz' works. Portfolio A contained 10 etchings and portfolio B contained 8 etchings.

Curt Valentin Portfolio- "Kathe Kollwitz: Ten Lithographs, New York, 1941." Valentin was a german ÈmigrÈ who had a gallery in New York that showed European artists and who published this Portfolio on the occasion of the exhibition of Kollwitz' work in 1941..

Richter Portfolio, circa 1921. This portfolio contains facsimiles of 24 pencil, pen and ink, charcoal or color drawings. Most of the drawings were preparatory sketches for her graphic works. Emil Richter was an art dealer who became Kollwitz' publisher around 1908, when the Bauernkreig (Peasants' War Series) was first issued and remained her publisher with exclusive rights until 1930 when he went bankrupt.

The works in the exhibition come from the collection of Pasquale Iannetti, San Francisco, CA.

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Exhibition Facts

Contents:
55 framed graphic works

Supplemental:
text panels,
labels,
brochure

Dates Available:
September 2007 - 2009

Loan Fee:
Upon request

Contact:
310-397-3098
info@a-r-t.com

- List of Works With Images -

Kathe Kollwitz, 1890
Koln, Germany