Käthe Kollwitz and the theatre

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:00:38 +0000

Special exhibition from 21 February to 3 May 2026

The Käthe Kollwitz Museum Berlin is opening a new perspective on the life and work of one of Germany’s most important artists in the former theatre building of Charlottenburg Palace. The special exhibition ‘Käthe Kollwitz and the Theatre’ focuses on a topic that has received little attention to date – Käthe Kollwitz and her family’s affinity for the theatre.

Theatre as part of everyday family life
Diary entries and letters to her son Hans document how visiting the theatre was a natural part of everyday family life – just like political discussions and artistic work. Käthe Kollwitz and her family experienced the most fruitful period in Berlin’s theatre history at first hand and attended numerous innovative productions by the great directors of their time, including Otto Brahm, Max Reinhardt and Leopold Jessner. From the naturalism of the late 19th century to the expressionist theatre of the 1920s, they followed the stage closely. Dance, concerts, film and cabaret were also part of this rich cultural cosmos.

Theatre as a resonance chamber for artistic work
The exhibition examines the influence these intense visual experiences had on Käthe Kollwitz’s artistic work. Although she did not work directly for the theatre, her oeuvre reflects a wide range of references to literary material, scenic situations and dramatic condensations. Theatre is thus visible less as a concrete motif than as an intellectual resonance chamber for her work.

Highlights of the exhibition
A large number of loans from public and private collections, newly catalogued and digitised archive material, and interdisciplinary perspectives clearly show how closely the life of the Kollwitz family was interwoven with one of the most productive phases in Berlin’s theatre history. In addition to works by Käthe Kollwitz, works by Ernst Barlach, Lovis Corinth, Georg Kolbe, August Macke, Max Liebermann, Ernst Oppler and Emil Orlik are also on display.

Extensive loans and research work
The exhibition comprises over 100 exhibits from 17 lenders, including the Alte Nationalgalerie SMB, Kupferstichkabinett SMB, Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, Ernst Barlach Haus Hamburg, John Neumeier Stiftung Hamburg, Kollwitz Museum Cologne, and Tanzarchiv und Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung Cologne. It concludes three years of research by Kollwitz specialist Annette Seeler, which was carried out in collaboration with the museum.

Design and accompanying publication
The young Berlin-based design team Jason Kittner and Meret Schmiese are responsible for the architectural and graphic design of the exhibition. An accompanying catalogue with over 200 illustrations and approx. 240 pages will be published by Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, which will deepen the dialogue between visual arts and performing arts.

Funding and support
The exhibition, catalogue and educational programme have been made possible by the generous support of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation, the Rudolf-August Oetker Foundation and the Richard Stury Foundation.

Educational programmes for the special exhibition
FOR SCHOOL CLASSES
School project day for the special exhibition
Bookable from 21 February to 3 May 2026

FOR ADULTS
Slow Art tour
Thursday, 30 April 2026, 5 p.m.
Registration required.

FOR ADULTS
Guided tours with guest curator Dr Annette Seeler
Tuesday, 31 March, 14 and 28 April 2026, 4 p.m. each day
Participation is included in the museum admission price.
No registration required.

FOR ADULTS
Tour in German Sign Language (DGS)
Sunday, April 12, 2026, 3:00 p.m.
Participation is included in the museum admission fee.
Registration required: bildung@kaethe-kollwitz.de

Events related to the special exhibition
Lecture by Dr Norbert Jaron
Max Reinhardt and the theatre of the early 20th century
Thursday, 12 March 2026, 7 p.m.
Admission €8.00 | concessions €5.00
No registration required.

Käthe Kollwitz – “And yet it is art”

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 13:03:23 +0000

After 36 successful years, the Käthe Kollwitz Museum Berlin has left its founding location in Charlottenburg’s Fasanenstraße and moved to the theater building at Charlottenburg Palace in summer 2022.

From opening in October 2022, the museum and its collection on the first floor of the building will be presented in a new presentation under the Kollwitz quote “And yet it is art”. The artist (1867 – 1945), who was already known worldwide during her lifetime, had herself once issued the motto: “I want to have an effect in this time”.
Many of her works are still anchored in people’s pictorial memory today as accusations against social grievances and admonitions against war and violence. Despite the declared goal of achieving a broad impact with her graphics, Käthe Kollwitz always saw herself first and foremost as an artist.

As an accomplished draftswoman, with a delight in experimentation and a great talent for finding images, her main concern was to create an artistically sophisticated work. Slow working, numerous attempts to find motifs and the constant change of printing techniques characterize Kollwitz’s path to the completed work. She self-critically questioned her work and compared it with contemporary works by colleagues, only to conclude in her diary in December 1922 about her works: “And yet it is art.”

From this perspective, the new permanent exhibition of the Berlin Kollwitz Museum examines, first with its own holdings and later in rotation with loans from friendly collections and private lenders, the artistic quality of the works of a graphic artist and sculptor who was far too often reduced to her political and social impact.

With almost 100 works by Käthe Kollwitz on display, the museum presents a third more works in the Theaterbau than in Fasanenstraße. An exhibition area of 235 square meters at the old location now has 300 square meters available for the museum’s holdings.

The museum’s permanent exhibition will become even more extensive from 2024, when the exhibition activities will move to the entire 1st floor of the building and the exhibition space will double. The currently limited possibilities for special shows will then reach a standard that will meet the prevailing museum requirements, not only spatially but also climatically.

Current exhibition – Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum Berlin

Käthe Kollwitz and the theatre

Käthe Kollwitz – “And yet it is art”