{"id":13502,"date":"2025-07-08T08:10:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T06:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/?p=13502"},"modified":"2025-07-07T18:15:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T16:15:40","slug":"158th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/news\/158th-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"K\u00e4the Kollwitz for her 158th birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”vc_default” gap=”35″][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”13493″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Self-portrait<\/span><\/strong>, 1926-32, Bronze<\/span>
\nphoto: Kienzle | Oberhammer<\/span><\/p>\n

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[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

To mark the 158th birthday of K\u00e4the Kollwitz, we take a look at her self-portraits and their transformation over the course of time<\/h4>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=””]Today, on 8 July 2025, we celebrate the 158th birthday of one of Germany’s most important artists – K\u00e4the Kollwitz. Her works, especially her self-portraits, give us a deep insight into her life, her feelings and her development as an artist and a person.<\/p>\n

K\u00e4the Kollwitz began her artistic journey during her student days with a spontaneous, sketchy self-portrait. As a young woman, she then showed herself questioning but full of energy. These early works reflect a certain light-heartedness, combined with the first signs of empathy and sensitivity.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”2532″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Self-portrait en face, laughing<\/span><\/strong>; 1888\/89, pen and brush<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”3543″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Self-portrait at a table<\/span><\/strong>, 1893, etching<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”3537″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Self-portrait towards left, with neck<\/span><\/strong>, 1902, lithograph\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=””]Over the years, especially after personal tragedies such as the loss of her son Peter in the First World War, her expression changed. Her self-portraits became more intense, more reflective and are often characterised by grief. One recognises a woman struggling with the challenges of life and the horrors of war. The lines in her self-portraits become sharper, the facial expressions more introspective – a mirror of her inner world, unembellished and honest.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”13490″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Self-portrait<\/span><\/strong>, 1924, woodcut
\n<\/span>photo: Dietmar Katz\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””]In her later work, her portraits reveal a human maturity and acceptance of her circumstances. The portraits are often calmer, reflecting a woman who is at peace with herself, but who also bears the burdens of her life. These works are powerful and show an artist who finds comfort and understanding for herself and others through her art.<\/p>\n

K\u00e4the Kollwitz’ self-portraits are more than just self-portraits; they are a journey through her life, her feelings and her development. They are impressive proof of how art can serve as a means of self-reflection, especially in difficult times. The evolution of her self-portraits also reflects the social upheavals she experienced and her own journey to becoming an experienced, thoughtful artist.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”13487″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Selfportrait<\/span><\/strong>, 1924, lithograph
\n<\/span>photo: Dietmar Katz\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”13483″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Self-portrait<\/span><\/strong>, 1934, lithograph
\n<\/span>photo: Dietmar Katz\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”13485″ img_size=”full” onclick=”link_image” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]K\u00e4the Kollwitz, <\/span>Self-portrait in profile towards right<\/span><\/strong>, 1938, lithograph
\n<\/span>photo: Dietmar Katz<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner]

<\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

K\u00e4the Kollwitz was born 158 years ago today, on 8 July – a wonderful occasion to take a closer look at the important German artist and her self-portraits. The works of K\u00e4the Kollwitz give us a deep insight into her life, her feelings and her development as an artist and a person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-14","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13502"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13504,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13502\/revisions\/13504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}