Käthe Kollwitz
Soldiers’ Wives Waving Farewell
1937/38
Bronze
Käthe Kollwitz Museum Berlin
A comparison with Emil Orlik’s (1870–1932) graphic work “Chor der Ältesten” (Choir of Elders) reveals similarities with Käthe Kollwitz’s composition of the sculpture. The artist recapitulates an experience from the First World War in which women and children wave goodbye to a departing train carrying soldiers, among whom are their husbands and fathers who have been called up for military service.
Viewers take the place of the soldiers and feel the pain of parting and the fear of the families left behind.