Charcoal, blotted, on Ingres paper, NT 1184
In this drawing, Käthe Kollwitz portrayed a family group in two moving scenes evoking an atmosphere of mutual confidence and trust. The drawing is evidently a spontaneous observation of an everyday situation the motif of which is reminiscent of the lithograph »Parents with Child« (Kn 254).
In a letter to Hanna Löhnberg, a young fellow-painter, Käthe Kollwitz wrote in 1929:
You cannot but smile back when a child smiles at you. This stream of love – not suppressed, but shown with great delight – to the child and back from the child, this is pure bliss.«
Käthe Kollwitz, Letters of Friendship