Woman and Death
1910
Medium
charcoal on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 47 x 61 cm (18 1/2 x 24 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5216
Art Historical Context
Käthe Kollwitz’s *Woman and Death* (1910) captures the artist’s lifelong preoccupation with mortality and human vulnerability. Working in charcoal on laid paper, Kollwitz exploits the medium’s velvety blacks and soft gradations to create an intimate yet stark confrontation between a female figure and the personification of death. The drawing’s modest scale—roughly 18 by 24 inches—invites close viewing, allowing the textured paper and smudged charcoal to heighten the emotional immediacy of the scene. Created in Germany on the eve of World War I, the work reflects the social anxieties and econo...
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...