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Thread: Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) is arguably the greatest German artist. Her ability to depict authentic emotion, chronicle her times & provide us with an understanding of the crises & collapse of German society in the early 20th C has never been equalled. She died on this day. 
Kollwitz created many self-portraits. With the exception of Rembrandt, it is hard to identify another artist as capable of excavating the human psyche with such truth or authenticity. There is no vanity, only revelation.
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Another feature of her work is maternal love. This would be a theme often depicted in the work of late 19th - early 20th C women artists. However no other artist brought the honesty & devastation of that love when confronted with loss.
The genius of Kollwitz is that the feeling she presents us with is both truthful & universal. Here a child is in the serene safety of being comforted by her mother’s work-worn hands. She shields her daughter from fear & from life.
Where Kollwitz challenges us is in the depiction of the animal passion of hate. Here again we see the force & anger of a woman sharpening a scythe. That blade is to be a weapon & we are confronted with the idea of love & hate as she cradles an enemy’s doom.
In this image of a battle field she spotlights a traditional role of women in having to identify the dead & clean up the blood bath. With this most medieval of scenes, Kollwitz confronts us with the truth of war & of hate. Her beam of light being the only love in the dark.
One of her most memorable works is a self-portrait with death extending its hand to her. It’s done after she lost her son in war & there is a sense that she welcomes her end. That idea is, however, hedged by the fact that here she was, in darkness, still creating.
Käthe Kollwitz has been described as the moral conscience of Germany. Her art is the triumph of the human spirit & by viewing it, confronting it & seeking to understand it we can make ourselves better people. Here’s her monument to those who suffered under the Far Right
At a time when the Far Right is raising its evil voice across the continent, from the Urals to the Atlantic, there has never been a more important time to learn about Kollwitz & her witness to their barbaric actions. She is our conscience.
Here’s a thread on Kollwitz’s life & work:
