Weavers, peasants, war and death

"Fundamentally a dramatic artist, Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) brought to each of her works an uncanny ability to evoke human emotions through subtle gestures and facial expressions. The reactions of her characters were psychologically true primarily because she tested them on herself. As Carl Zigrosser writes in his Introduction, In a sense one might say that her whole work was a self portrait. From those so labeled, one can follow the traces left by time and experience over the years, from the rounded freshness of the young bride to the lined and seared face of the aged woman. These records do not stem from a superficial narcissism but from frank self appraisal: they are psychological milestones."

Käthe Kollwitz
Prints and drawings
Carl Zigrosser, Dover 2014