Käthe Kollwitz MENSCH

“I acknowledge that my art is purposeful,” the German artist Käthe Kollwitz wrote in 1922. “I want to make an impact in these times, when people are so helpless and in need.” Käthe Kollwitz was active as an artist during the five most turbulentdecades in Germany’s history, from the 1890s to the early1940s. At a time when art was predominantly spoken of and idealised as free, she used her art to give a voice to thosewho needed it most.

This richly illustrated book is published in connection with a large retrospective exhibition at SMK – National Gallery of Denmark and offers insights into Kollwitz’s uncompromisingvisual language, both in her interpretations of history, her descriptions of deep existential experiences, and her critique of social and political realities. Through a number of essays, the book introduces Kollwitz’s life and work. It opens new historical and contemporary perspectives on her experimental graphic works and their ground-breaking statements about women, class-based society, and war traumas, while also delving into an artistic world where light and darkness, sorrow and hope exist side by side.