The People (Das Volk)
1922/1923
Medium
woodcut touched with opaque white watercolor and black wash on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 36 × 30 cm (14 3/16 × 11 13/16 in.) sheet: 41.6 × 35.3 cm (16 3/8 × 13 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5278
Art Historical Context
Käthe Kollwitz's *The People (Das Volk, created between 1922 and 1923, captures the raw spirit of post-World War I Germany during the Weimar Republic. As a pioneering female artist and committed socialist, Kollwitz often depicted the struggles of the working class, from her own experiences with poverty, loss, and social injustice. This woodcut reflects her lifelong focus on the dignity and plight of ordinary people, amid economic collapse and political upheaval that defined the era. Printed on wove paper and subtly enhanced with opaque white watercolor and black wash, the work exemplifies Kol...
About the Artist
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) was a German artist whose powerful images of poverty, war, and maternal grief established her as the foremost practitioner of socially engaged art in early 20th-century Europe. Working primarily in printmaking—including etching, lithography, and woodcut—as well as drawing and sculpture, Kollwitz created works of raw emotional power that gave voice to the suffering of wor...