Kathe Kollwitz Mothers

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Kathe Kollwitz Mothers

In 1914 a war was going on in Germany. At the same time, Kathe Kollwitz was capturing images of poverty, unemployment, homelessness and things that ailed Germany. Following WW1 Kollwitz’ son, Peter Kollwitz, joined the German army to later be killed in battle. This inspired Kollwitz to begin a series of works illustrating the effects that war had on women, one of which is “The Mothers”.

In this work, and many, Kollwitz uses lithography to produce very dark yet sharp images. The use of color itself gives the audience a doleful view of her works. When first looking at this work, a deep sadness and sorrow is perceived. The expressions on the mothers’ faces give it away almost immediately. Viewing this piece from left to right, the first mother seems as if she has lost a loved one or is reminded of one. The way that she hides her face in her hands not wanting anyone to see her pain, shows the audience how devastating it is to lose a loved one. The other two mothers seem more collect about their thoughts but at the same time thankful. They seem thankful by clutching tightly to their young, firmly holding their infants and keeping the children close by their side as if the kids are the only loved ones that the mothers’ have left.

When glanced at, this work attracts the eye because of its photographic characteristics. Dark black lines are used to outline each figure with its own characteristics. Dark colors are abundantly used in this work to represent a gloomy image of sorrow, although in this work, they are used to show the feelings and thoughts of the suffering mothers to be unfortunate. I’m sure that the mothers’ in this piece were not alone and Kollwitz realized this.

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