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Käthe Kollwitz
Cover design for the Freie Volksbühne association magazine
circa 1900

Graphite and pen in black ink

Käthe Kollwitz Museum Cologne

The Freie Volksbühne association was founded in 1890 to give workers access to the theater. Closed events also allowed plays that were subject to censorship to be performed. Käthe Kollwitz’s brother Conrad Schmidt (1863–1932) was involved in the founding of the association and became its chairman in 1897. It was probably at his instigation that his sister created the vignette for the cover of the association’s magazines.

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Käthe Kollwitz
March Cemetery
1913

Charcoal on Ingres laid paper

Ute Kahl Collection, Cologne

This drawing was used to prepare the lithograph of the same name, which commemorated March 18, 1848. On that day, 300 protesters fell victim to royal troops in Berlin during the revolutionary events of 1848/49. The rebels’ goals were national unity and political freedom in Germany. SPD circles commemorated these dead every year on March 18.

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Käthe Kollwitz
March Cemetery
1913

Crayon lithograph
with typographic text at the bottom: 18 MARCH / FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE FREIE VOLKSBÜHNEN

Ute Kahl Collection, Cologne

In 1913, Käthe Kollwitz had an edition of this lithograph printed for the members of the Verein Volksbühne (People’s Theater Associations) at a low price. This was probably intended to enable them to purchase art. It is conceivable that the campaign was also linked to the collection of funds for the construction of their own theater, the Volksbühne (People’s Theater), which opened in 1914 on what is now Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in Berlin.

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Lovis Corinth
Stage design for the study in “Faust I”
1922
(Production by Victor Barnowsky at the Lessingtheater Berlin, 1922)

Pastel

Theater Studies Collection of the University of Cologne

In this design, the Gothic vault, which is outlined in the other stage designs, now comes to the fore. Here it becomes the study of the scholar Faust in the first act. However, with a different interior, it can also serve as the architecture for the scenes in Auerbach’s Cellar and in the cathedral.

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Lovis Corinth
Stage design for the Easter walk in Faust I
1922
(Production by Victor Barnowsky at the Lessingtheater Berlin, 1922)

Pastel

Theater Studies Collection of the University of Cologne

Behind the vaulted sky of the prologue, the setting for Faust and his assistant Wagner’s Easter walk outside the city gates can be seen.
In the Kollwitz family, it was part of the annual Easter ritual to read aloud from the text of Faust, Part I. It therefore seems plausible that the artist had seen more than one production of the play. In this case, her esteemed colleague Corinth was also involved in the production at the Lessingtheater.

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Lovis Corinth
Stage design for the prologue in heaven in “Faust I”
1922
(Production by Victor Barnowsky at the Lessingtheater Berlin, 1922)

Pastel

Theater Studies Collection of the University of Cologne

Lovis Corinth (1858–1925) was commissioned in 1922 to create the stage design for Victor Barnowsky’s (1875–1952) production of “Faust. Part I” at the Lessingtheater. He developed his overall concept from the scene of the prologue in heaven, in which the three archangels glorify God’s works. The outline of a Gothic vault for later scenes already appears in the heavenly scene.

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Ernst Stern
Figurine (costume design) for the siren in “Faust II”
1911
(Production by Max Reinhardt at the Deutsche Theater Berlin, 1911)

Mixed media

Theater Studies Collection of the University of Cologne

In the second act of the tragedy, Faust is transported to the ancient world with its gods and heroes. Sirens also appear here. These are bird-like female mythical creatures who, in mythology, beguile sailors with their singing in order to lead them to their doom. The costume design is supplemented by a construction sketch that visualizes the stage realization of this mythical creature.

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Ernst Stern
Figurine (costume design) for Sorge in “Faust II”
1911
(Production by Max Reinhardt at the Deutsche Theater Berlin, 1911)

Mixed media

Theater Studies Collection of the University of Cologne

Another scene, which the artist described to her son Hans in 1911 as “delicate and captivating,” revolves around Faust’s purification in the final act, which redeems him from his pact with the devil. To this end, he is approached by the “Four Gray Women,” the personifications of want, need, guilt, and worry. But only worry, which Kollwitz also mentions separately, succeeds in touching Faust’s innermost being and bringing him to his senses.

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Ernst Stern
Figurine (costume design) for Faust as Plutus
1911
(Production of “Faust II” by Max Reinhardt at the Deutsche Theater Berlin, 1911)

Mixed media

Theater Studies Collection of the University of Cologne

On April 18, 1911, Käthe Kollwitz wrote to her son Hans about the performance, in which she was particularly impressed by the Mummenschanz scene in the first act with the procession of various groups of costumed people. Here, Faust appears in the costume of Plutus, the personification of wealth and mineral resources. The artist found: “The masked ball was splendid.”

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Emil Orlik
Max Reinhardt at the dress rehearsal with Paul Wegener as Mephisto
1911
(Production of “Faust II” by Max Reinhardt at the Deutsche Theater Berlin, 1911)

Etching

Private collection, Berlin

On Easter Monday 1911, Käthe and Karl Kollwitz attended Max Reinhardt’s (1873–1943) production of Goethe’s “Faust. Part II,” which lasted eight hours. Both wrote about it to their son Hans, who was studying away from home.