Käthe Kollwitz
Königsberg Pub
circa 1891
Pen and ink in black, gray wash on drawing paper
Käthe Kollwitz Museum Cologne
After receiving recognition from her colleagues in Munich for an illustration for Émile Zola’s (1840–1902) novel Germinal, Käthe Kollwitz continued to pursue the theme upon her return to Königsberg. During the day, she made drawings in disreputable harbor pubs for the setting of the fight scene from Germinal that she wanted to depict.
The artist clearly based her work on the principle of the peep-box stage, in which the audience looks into the setting of an event as if through a missing fourth wall.