Kollwitz, Käthe, Gefangene, Musik Horend (Prisoners Listening to Music), 1925
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Email to FriendSigned Käthe Kollwitz, Lithograph, Gefangene, Musik Horend (Prisoners Listening to Music), 1925  |
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| Artist: | Kollwitz, Käthe (1867 - 1945) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Gefangene, Musik Horend (Prisoners Listening to Music), 1925 |
| Medium: | Original Lithograph |
| Image Size: | 13 1/8 in x 12 5/8 in (33.4 cm x 32 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 19 in x 16 1/8 in (48.3 cm x 41 cm) |
| Framed Size: | 29 1/8 in x 27 in (74 cm x 68.6 cm) |
| Signed: | Hand-signed by Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) in pencil in the lower right. |
| Edition: | According to Knesebeck, this work is from the State III (of III). |
| Condition: | This work is in good condition; some conservation to sheet not affecting the image. |
| Gallery Price: Item# 2748 | Sorry, this item is sold. Please visit the rest of our Kollwitz fine art collection |
| Historical Description: | |
|---|---|
| Entranced by the sound of music, three prisoners listen intently, drawing what
pleasure they can from the melodic tunes. The prisoner in the front leans forward
and looks up, as if desperate to draw some sense of comfort from the music,
soaking up this one bright moment in his otherwise bleak day. The prisoner to
the right carries a sense of sadness about him. His eyes appear blank and empty,
as if he has lost all sense of hope and joy. He gazes forward in a slouched
stance, using this time to contemplate his unfortunate lot in life. Kollwitz
here captures a moment in which each subject appears absorbed in his thoughts.
The title encourages the viewer to imagine and even sympathize with the situation
of these prisoners, yet the viewer cannot help but wonder what heinous acts
led to their imprisonment in the first place.
Created in 1925, this original lithograph is hand-signed by Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) in pencil in the lower right. According to Knesebeck, this work is from the State III (of III), the listener at the upper left is ground out and placed considerably lower. Only the upper half of his head and eye are visible (Knesebeck, no. 223). Documented and Illustrated in: About the Framing: | |
| Style: | Expressionism, 20th Century German Modern Expressionist |
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Biography of Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz (1867 - 1945)
One of the most influential and famous German printmakers of the twentieth century, Käthe Kollwitz starkly depicted the plight of the poor and denounced the atrocities of war. Working at a time when many artists used their art to investigate formal problems, Kollwitz devoted herself to describing the human condition. She declined the use of color, letting her vigorously clear and articulate line express urgency and social purpose, and her simplification of form and the absence of extraneous detail contribute to the power of her work.
Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz was born to a large family in East Prussia which valued freedom, mutual respect, social activism, and spiritual dedication. Kollwitz recalled that "from my childhood on, my father had expressly wished me to be trained for a career as an artist, and he was sure there would be no great obstacles to my becoming one."(1)
She began formal training at age fourteen under the engraver Rudolf Mauer, and, at seventeen she moved to Berlin where she enrolled in the School for Women Artists. While a student in Berlin, Kollwitz's teacher encouraged her to seek out the work of Max Klinger. She went to see Klinger's series of etchings A Life at an exhibit which "excited me tremendously."(2) Captivated by Klinger's work and deeply influenced by the writings of Émile Zola, Kollwitz turned to etching and lithography to depict social issues. Her marriage in 1891 to physician Karl Kollwitz, and his medical practice in a poor, working class section of Berlin further exposed her to a wide range of suffering and tragedy which would become the subject of her work over the next fifty years.
1. Hans Kollwitz, ed. The Diary and Letters of Kaethe Kollwitz (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1988), 37.
2. Kollwitz, The Diary, 39.
