Jump to content

Woman with Dead Child

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Woman With Dead Child is a 1903 etching by Käthe Kollwitz. Its subject was influenced by her experiences in an underserved sector of Berlin as a physician's wife where disease and infant mortality rate were high.[1] The image is often considered as Käthe Kollwitz's most famous depiction of war.[2]

Woman with Dead Child (Frau mit totem Kind)
A mourning woman with her dead child
ArtistKäthe Kollwitz
Year1903 (1903)
Mediumetching
MovementExpressionism
Dimensions54.5 cm × 70.3 cm (21.5 in × 27.7 in)

The picture depicts a mother holding her child between the thighs. Her mouth is fixed on its chest in an effort to suck her child back inside her.[3]

The artist used herself and her seven-year-old son Peter as models for this composition.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Käthe Kollwitz. Woman with Dead Child (Frau mit totem Kind). 1903". www.moma.org. October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Skye Sherwin, Skye Sherwin (September 13, 2017). "Käthe Kollwitz: Portrait of the Artist review – a brooding tableau of trauma". The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Sherwin, Skye (September 13, 2017). "Käthe Kollwitz: Portrait of the Artist review – a brooding tableau of trauma". The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Woman with dead Child, 1903". Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln. Retrieved October 18, 2023.