Kathe Kollwitz

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Kathe Kollwitz is probably one of my favorite artists now! I remember when we saw a few of her pieces at the art museum at BYU and I honestly wasn’t that impressed or interested in them, but after learning about her more in depth and the meanings behind her art work I was able to appreciate them so much more. Her etchings have so much emotion in them and it was evoking so many emotions in me as I was walking around the museum. I am not a mother, but I still feel like I can understand what each of the mothers in her pieces were feeling as they are holding on to their children, or children who have passed away. She is extremely gifted and I understand why her parents were worried about her career ending when she got married, I am so glad that it didn’t!


Her contribution is important because she was a pioneer in a lot of ways. She was the first woman to be admitted as a full member to the Prussian Academy of Arts, and she was also made a professor even though it was pretty unheard of at the time. She also painted a lot of the middle class which is different, and I think it is important that we have her art to remember what it was like for the working class at the time of war and how it felt to have families torn apart. Her pieces were sometimes political and I think great to show the negative affects of wars and of unfair treatment to the working class. 

I think that Kathe Kollwitz has been commemorated well, her museum was really pretty on the outside, although the actually museum part inside with her art was small. It was mentioned though that this isn’t the only place with her art. She has many statues all over Europe, and also I think she said there is a street named after her as well. I also think just the fact that there were some of her pieces in the BYU art museum shows how much people love her and her art, and it is studied and remembered all over the world.

 

Comments

  1. Theresa BellJune 11, 2024 at 1:21 PM

    I love this Betsy, and Kollowitz has become one of my favorites too! Her art is really incredible. I think her work really captures so much of the grief suffered by victims of WWI and WWII. That kind of reflection and understanding of history helps shape culture, and I think that by reminding people of what has happened before, Kollowitz has helped shape Berlin into the cultural capital it is today.

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  2. Molly BryantJune 11, 2024 at 3:05 PM

    Great blog post Betsy! I love that she is now one of your favorite artists! That is so cool. I think that the obstacles she faced were not the social ones that other women we have learned about faced. She faced the obstacle of the death of her loved ones. This is a terrible obstacle to overcome. I don’t know how she continued to work after that. I can’t imagine losing my child. I think this obstacle will always be around on this earth because there will always be wars and untimely deaths.

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  3. Lilly PetersonJune 11, 2024 at 3:24 PM

    Ok betsy boo I see you! Kathe Kollwitz definitely faced a lot of obstacles in her personal life, which I think comes through so clearly in her art. She had to work through the loss of her loved ones and so many injustices in the world around her. I think it is wonderful that she used this to fuel her art and give us so many wonderful pieces. These obstacles are something that still exist today - social injustice, war, and so many other things face women and everyone in the world.

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  4. Anna's Study Abroad 2024June 12, 2024 at 1:49 PM

    Yes Betsy! I totally agree and she is one of my favorite artists too now. She is a shining example of an amazing woman artist, who uses her unique "lens" of view in her art. The great part is that she is recognized for it which is kind of shocking after learning about the other women from this class. This helps build the culture of the city because she was so widely recognized that she put a spotlight on the themes of motherhood, children, and anti-war.

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