Käthe Kollwitz
Gretchen
1899
Etching, drypoint, and aquatint on Chinese paper, rolled onto copperplate paper
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett
Six years after her first etching on the theme of Gretchen, the artist designed an independent version of the motif. She combines two phases of the drama’s plot on one sheet. The unhappy, pregnant Gretchen stands on a footbridge over a body of water. Below her, she sees a comforting vision of the future: there, the child she drowned in despair after giving birth is lovingly embraced by a maternal figure of death.