Käthe Kollwitz
German, 1867 - 1945Plowing (or the Plowers), 1906
Not on view
Etching and aquatint on paper
Dimensions19 5/8 × 24 7/8 in. (49.8 × 63.2 cm)
Gift of John and Marilyn Kopp, 2001.11
Käthe Kollwitz, one of the most prolific printmakers of her time, established herself as a great practitioner of German Expressionism, at a time when the art world was dominated by men. Best known for depicting heart wrenching and emotion-filled depictions of the suffering working class, particularly women and children, witnessing both World Wars. Many of her works reflected her personal experience with motherhood and the loss of a son in the first war and a grandson in the second.
The Nazi government removed her from her position as the first female professor appointed to the Prussian Academy and forbade the exhibition of her work, while much of her art was destroyed in a Berlin air raid in 1943.
