My Gallery
Kollwitz, Kathe
By the Church Wall
etching on paper
1972 Purchase
Kathe Kollwitz was one of the first women artists to achieve notoriety in the 20th century. Deeply affected by the human tragedy of post- World War I Germany, Kollwitz used her art to express her compassion for people who were suffering. Kollwitz conveyed incredible sensitivity and emotion in her images of people whose lives had been shattered by war. "By the Church Wall" is one of many etchings she produced to communicate the intense despair, hunger, and poverty that people were experiencing.
In 1933, Kollwitz was expelled from the Berlin Academy for her anti-Nazi postition. In 1940, her home in Berlin was destroyed by a bomb and most of her artwork was lost. This etching, "By the Church Wall" is a restrike print which was made after Kollwitz printed the original edition. A restrike print is usually made after the first edition has been out of circulation for a long time.