Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz (Königsberg, 1867 – near Dresden, 1945) was a German graphic artist and sculptor renowned for her moving portrayals of war, injustice, and motherhood. Trained in Berlin and Munich, she turned to printmaking under the influence of Max Klinger. Her major works, such as Weavers’ Revolt and Peasants’ War, depict the suffering of the working class. The death of her son in WWI profoundly shaped her art, inspiring works like the memorial in Ypres (1932). Kollwitz was the first woman elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts, but was forced to resign in 1933 by the Nazi regime. Her final lithograph series, Death (1934–36), confirms her role as a master of German Expressionism. She died just weeks before WWII ended. Her legacy as one of the 20th century’s foremost artists of social protest lives on in museums dedicated to her work in Cologne and Berlin.