Death, sheet 2 of the cycle »A Weavers’ Revolt«, 1893-1897

Crayon, pen and brush lithograph with scratch technique, Kn 34 A b

Käthe Kollwitz, Death, sheet 2 of the cycle »A Weavers’ Revolt«, 1893-1897, crayon, pen and brush lithograph with scratch technique, Kn 34 A b, Cologne Kollwitz Collection © Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln

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.

Studies, Preparatory Drawings

Käthe Kollwitz, Hans Kollwitz with a candle, 1895, pen, brush and black ink on yellowish paper, NT 115, Cologne Kollwitz Collection © Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln

Käthe Kollwitz, Hans Kollwitz with a candle, 1895, pen, brush and black ink on yellowish paper, NT 115

Käthe Kollwitz, Death, design variation for the lithograph »Death«, brush and ink, NT 137, Cologne Kollwitz Collection © Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln

Käthe Kollwitz, Death, design variation for the lithograph »Death«, brush and ink, NT 137

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