Käthe Kollwitz

8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945

Käthe Kollwitz was a German artist who worked in painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Her powerful, socially engaged depictions of poverty, war, and grief made her one of the most important graphic artists of the 20th century.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Käthe Kollwitz.

Life events

Born in Königsberg, Prussia
8 July 1867

Käthe Schmidt was born in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) into a liberal family.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Studied at the Women's Art School in Berlin and Munich
1885

She trained as an artist at women's art academies, focusing on drawing and printmaking.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Married physician Karl Kollwitz
1891

She married Karl Kollwitz and moved to a working-class district of Berlin.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relationship ✓
Completed the print cycle 'A Weavers' Revolt'
1897

Her graphic series depicting a workers' uprising brought her critical recognition.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Lost her son Peter in World War I
1914

Her younger son was killed early in the war, deeply shaping her later antiwar art.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts
1919

She became the first woman elected a full member of the Prussian Academy of Arts.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Forced to resign from the Academy by the Nazis
1933

After the Nazi takeover she was expelled from the Academy and her work was suppressed.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Died in Moritzburg, Germany
22 April 1945

Käthe Kollwitz died shortly before the end of World War II, at the age of 77.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓