Bronze Sculpture "Pietà" by Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945), 1937-38/39. On the anniversary of her son Peter's death in 1914 the artist noted in her diary in 1937: "I am working on a small sculpture which has developed out of my attempt to make a sculpture of an old person. It has become something like a Pietà. The mother is seated and has her dead son lying between her knees in her lap. There is no longer pain - only reflection." (Translated from: Tagebücher, 22 October 1937). Reflection on the fact "that her son was not accepted by people. She is an old, lonely and gloomily reflective woman." (Translated from: Tagebücher, December 1939).
Additional information at http://www.kollwitz.de/module/werkliste/Details.aspx?wid=350&lid=10&head=Tour+-+War&ln=e
The same bronze sold at Bassenge Auction House in Berlin, Germany in May 2008 for in excess of $116,000.
Considered one of Germany’s most important early 20th-century artists, Käthe Kollwitz (8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) captured the hardships suffered by the working class in drawings, paintings, and prints. Themes of war and poverty dominate Kollwitz’s oeuvre, with images of women grieving dead children a particularly important and recurring theme—an experience that Kollwitz suffered herself when her son died in WWI, influencing her decision to become a Socialist. Kollwitz’s unflinching exploration of human suffering amounted to a searing indictment of social conditions in Germany. In 1936, the Nazis declared Kollwitz’s art “degenerate” and her artworks were removed from museums.
14.75" tall X 14.5" long X 8.75" wide
37.5 cm X 37 cm X 22 cm
Weight: 24 lbs
[SOLD. Please inquire, as we may have similar pieces in stock.]
