Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz (1867 – 1945, Germany) was the last great practitioner of German Expressionism and is often considered to be the foremost artist of social protest in the 20th century. An eloquent advocate for victims of social injustice, war, and inhumanity, Kollwitz portrayed the plight of the poor and oppressed with the powerfully simplified and boldly accentuated forms that became her trademark. She studied art in Berlin and began producing etchings in 1880. From 1898 to 1903 Kollwitz taught at the Berlin School of Women Artists, and in 1910 began to create sculpture. A museum dedicated to Kollwitz’s work opened in Cologne, Germany, in 1985, and a second museum opened in Berlin one year later. The Diary and Letters of Käthe Kollwitz were published in 1988.