Image 1: Käthe Kollwitz, "The Survivors," 1923.
Introduction
Born in 1867, the daughter of a skilled mason from East Prussia, Käthe Schmidt studied at the Berlin School of Art and in 1891 married Dr. Karl Kollwitz. The couple lived in a poor section of Berlin which no doubt contributed to the social conscience so evident in her work. She also lost a son in World War I. The strong political content of her art led to her expulsion from the Prussian Academy after the Nazis came to power and her work was labeled " degenerate" by the regime. The following link to the image and quotation from Kollwitz's diary (brought together on the web pages of the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum in Berlin) reveal her political commitment, shared with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, to wage a "War on Wars."
"The Survivors," 1923