Crayon, pen and brush lithograph with scratch technique, Kn 34 A b
The figure of Death has come to take a woman surrounded by her family. The child behind the table, its eyes wide open, directs the observer’s view to the hand of Death who gently touches the mother’s left arm from across the table. Death’s other hand clutches the turned-over, i.e. empty, bowl on the table. This gesture leaves no doubt that the woman will die of hunger, too. She is depicted impassively leaning against the wall. Her husband, who is only seen as a silhouette-like figure from the back, faces the scene helplessly. In this work, Death is the only figure to show human emotions and does not come as an enemy, but a friend to release the woman from her misery.