Kathe Kollwitz

"Die Uberlebenden: Krieg dem Kriege! / The Survivors. Fight war not wars!" -Kathe Kollwitz (1923)

I chose to blog about this charcoal drawing because of how her personal life and political views create the message and the mood of the art piece. When I researched this piece I found that the nurturing figure in the middle is supposed to be a woman. This surprised me because when I first glanced at the figure I thought that it was androgynous enough to be representative of her husband who was a doctor. The children on the bottom also add to the personal nature of this piece because they show her support and compassion to the poor and the helpless. The title of this propaganda artwork clearly demonstrates her political views and her strong stance toward peace rather than war. The juxtaposition of the placement of the smaller figures (children) on the bottom versus the ominous large adults on the top also support her desire for peace rather than war; the top right figures look like wounded soldiers and the top left resemble some sort of evil looking characters.

-Aimee Caron