ABSTRACT
Few visual artists have portrayed the emotions of grief as authentically and as poignantly as Kaethe Kollwitz. Born out of suffering multiple personal losses, including those of her son and grandson in the great World Wars, Kollwitz’s lithographs, woodcuts, and sculptures expose the anguished travail of the human psyche in mourning. In addition, Kollwitz left behind an extensive diary which mirrors, in prose, the powerful images of her artwork. Together they provide an unparalleled, first-person account of the vicissitudes of grief. When the tragedies of Kollwitz’s private life are juxtaposed with the evolution of her art, a fascinating study of the phenomenology of grief emerges. This chapter traces the developmental history of Kaethe Kollwitz with a focus on how the major losses in her life shaped her bereavement and the message of her work.
