Käthe Kollwitz
Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the Käthe Kollwitz museum in Berlin. Käthe Kollwitz was an amazing artist who had a very distinct style, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Along with going to the museum I was able to learn more about her! From a young age she had great artistic talent and so she was able to work alongside a good artist. One fact about her that I loved was that her family didn’t want her to get married because they were scared she wasn't going to be able to do her art anymore. Her husband made sure that this didn’t happen when they got married by doing more of the household work! I like that she found a man that didn’t dull her shine and make her hide her talent. Käthe Kollwitz had some very depressing events happen in her life and you can see them translate into her art. It was very sad to see them.
I think that Käthe’s style of art was a big contribution. She depicted real life things, hard things, not just sunshine and rainbows. People can relate to her art, even when they wish they couldn't. Her art has emotion in it that I don’t know if I have seen before in any other art. Furthermore, the tragic deaths she had to deal with made her a pacifist and against war. I think people who are pacifists have such amazing hearts and I think that other people probably thanked her for being such a public figure willing to speak out. These may not seem like the biggest contributions in the world but I think they are very important ones.
I think she has been commemorated very well in Berlin. She literally has her own museum and everything in it is just her work. Having a whole place dedicated to just you and your work is great commemoration. I do have one issue with this though and that is that do only people who know about her go and visit this museum? Do randos go or no? It might be nice to have a room in a bigger more famous museum so the randos can be introduced to you. Another way she has been commemorated is by the Plaza that is named after her! This plaza even has significance to her! It is where she worked! I love when people are commemorated in a place that was significant to their life. It makes it so much more meaningful.
You're a stunner!!! I think that it is so cool that we can see what Kathe saw in her life in Berlin. She really focused on the working class and people who weren't typically shown in art (such as women) so we have such a unique perspective of Berlin as a cultural capital through her art. I think this also helps us understand the flawed past that Berlin has and how that can translate into art.
ReplyDeleteReally great post, Molly! Firstly, I think you did an excellent job of describing her and her work. You highlighted that she married someone supportive of her art, which was particularly uncommon for her time. This is crucial to note as we discuss the treatment of individuals during that period, both positive and negative. You also mentioned that she seemed to be treated relatively well for a female artist, which was rare since women artists, and women in general, were often not taken seriously. I believe Kollwitz has received the recognition she deserves, but we shouldn't stop there. We must continue to commemorate her and other female artists and their contributions.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Molly! I think one of the biggest obstacles for Kathe Kollwitz was probably just the disagreement over her getting married. There was so many stereotypes for what happens to women once they get married and I feel like she was able to look past that and prove everyone wrong! Sometimes we just need to remember that women can have the same career as a man!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your post Molly! You did such a good job at describing her life and how big of an impact her art was on people. I think she faced a lot of hard obstacles such as the tragic deaths she experienced. After the death of her son, she never fully recovered and you can see that in her art. She shows all of the hard emotions that follow being a mother during this time and you can tell it was an obstacle for her.
ReplyDeleteI love this post!!! She had many obstacles that stood in her way however, thankfully none that came from not having support from her family and husband. One major obstacle is many tragic deaths in her family. However, she was able to use this as inspiration for her art. This happens still today that people use tragedy to help inspire works of art that relates to others.
ReplyDeleteLearning about this woman helps us to understand that real people felt many hard things because of the war and went through hard things. This hampered the people but built them up in unity because of the hard things everyone was going through.