Family Group, c 1928

Charcoal, blotted, on Ingres paper, NT 1184

Käthe Kollwitz, Family Group, c 1928, charcoal, blotted, on Ingres paper, NT 1184, Cologne Kollwitz Collection © Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln

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:

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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

CONTEXTUAL WORKS

Käthe Kollwitz, Parents with Child, final version, 1931, crayon lithograph (transfer of an unknown drawing on ribbed laid paper), Kn 254 a, Cologne Kollwitz Collection © Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln

Käthe Kollwitz, Parents with Child, final version, 1931, crayon lithograph (transfer of an unknown drawing on ribbed laid paper), Kn 254 a

Käthe Kollwitz, Joy of Motherhood, c 1929, charcoal, Cologne Kollwitz Collection © Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln on firm white paper NT (1184a)

Käthe Kollwitz, Joy of Motherhood, c 1929, charcoal on firm white paper NT (1184a)