Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) - Mutter mit Kind auf dem Arm

Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945).

"Mother with Child in Her Arms" ("Mutter mit Kind auf dem Arm"), 1910.

Etching and drypoint on thick laid paper.
Otto Felsing, Berlin, 1910.

Hand-signed and numbered in pencil by the artist in the lower right corner.

One of an edition of 50 copies. As in this first edition, it is discreetly hand-signed by the printer, Otto Felsing (in the lower-left corner, below the plate mark and above the numbering).

Paper size: 240 x 180 mm.
Plate size: 198 x 131 mm.
Etching mounted with a double mat. The burgundy mat is slightly frayed. Antique frame with glass: 40.5 x 33.5 cm.

Cataloging: Knesebeck 114 IV d. [Alexandra von dem Knesebeck: *Käthe Kollwitz. Werkverzeichnis der Graphik*, Verlag Kornfeld, Bern, 2002].

Following the artist's death in 1945, the original metal plate for this work became part of the catalog of the art publisher Alexander von der Becke in Munich.

In the official records of the artist's work (the Knesebeck reference catalog), this signed and numbered edition of 50 copies is generally classified under "State IV" of the plate—dating from before it became worn through subsequent use (primarily during reprints in the 1960s and 1970s).

Etching in good condition, considering its age. There are several scuffs on the plate resulting in ink loss; these are well-integrated into the composition and the artist’s own linework. There are some minor, contained spots of foxing. The reverse side of the paper shows some scratches. All defects are visible in the accompanying images. The piece was removed from its frame to take additional photographs and has since been re-framed, retaining the original matting and its old wooden frame.

In this work, Kollwitz employs a particularly striking, aggressive contrast of light and shadow: deep, densely-hatched shadows envelop the composition, from which the mother’s hands emerge forcefully out of the darkness—creating an atmosphere that is both intimate and profoundly solemn. Eschewing all idealization, Kollwitz makes a radical break from the sanitized, bourgeois depictions of motherhood common to her era. The mother’s features appear weary; her hands are strong and toil-worn, and her expression conveys a sense of absolute self-surrender, underscored by an underlying feeling of... melancholy and a sense of being forsaken in the face of a hostile environment. It is not merely a family portrait; it is a universal statement on love and human fragility...


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