{"id":14230,"date":"2026-01-30T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T11:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/?p=14230"},"modified":"2026-01-30T12:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T11:23:56","slug":"kaethe-kollwitz-silent-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/archive-exhibition\/kaethe-kollwitz-silent-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"K\u00e4the Kollwitz – Silent Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”vc_default” gap=”35″][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”14208″ img_size=”full” onclick=”img_link_large” css=””][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Selected Works from the Ute Kahl Collection<\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The K\u00e4the Kollwitz Museum in Berlin is delighted to be able to show 40 selected drawings and rare prints from the important private collection of Ute Kahl. The special exhibition Silent Strength<\/em> focuses on the sensitive side of K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s work\u2014the aspect that continues to lend her works a special emotional depth and appeal to this day.<\/p>\n

Silent Strength \u2013 Empathy in the Work of K\u00e4the Kollwitz<\/strong><\/p>\n

The special exhibition is devoted to a theme that runs through K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s work like a quiet but steady stream: the sensitivity of the gaze, the humanity in expression, the quiet inner strength.<\/p>\n

Well-known works such as the graphic cycle A Weaver’s Revolt<\/em> (1898), the Peasants’ War<\/em> series (after 1900), the forceful poster Never Again War<\/em> (1924), and the sculpture Piet\u00e0<\/em> (1938), which today stands enlarged in the Neue Wache in Berlin as a memorial, are an integral part of the art-historical canon. But behind these iconic images lies an often overlooked aspect: K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s ability to detach strong emotions such as worry, grief, despair, or quiet resignation from any specific historical context and translate them into a universal visual language.<\/p>\n

Female figures as a reflection of the soul<\/strong><\/p>\n

Individual female figures often appear in K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s works as bearers of human emotions. They appear without narrative embellishment, reduced to gestures and postures that appear all the more intense. This focus on the essential gives the prints a timelessness that has lost none of its emotional power even after more than a hundred years.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator css=””][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”14206″ img_size=”full” onclick=”img_link_large” css=””][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_separator css=””][vc_column_text css=””]A passionate collector \u2013 Ute Kahl<\/strong>
\nCologne-based collector Ute Kahl discovered K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s art through the print M\u00fctter<\/em> (Mothers, 1919). This work left a lasting impression on her and marked the beginning of a collection that now encompasses all phases of the artist’s work and is of museum quality. Convinced that art of such significance must be accessible to the public, she generously makes loans available \u2013 as she has done for this exhibition in Berlin.<\/p>\n

Kollwitz today \u2013 Intimacy through emotion<\/strong>
\nHow can art that is often rendered in black and white and dates from a period of labor unrest around 1900 still resonate with contemporary viewers?
\nThe answer lies in the emotional directness of her works. Younger people in particular react spontaneously to the expressiveness of the figures \u2013 to their grief, their strength, their quiet perseverance. This immediacy builds bridges between generations and shows that K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s themes \u2013 humanity, suffering, courage, and compassion \u2013 are still relevant today.<\/p>\n

From movement to stillness \u2013 from pain to strength<\/strong>
\nFollowing the exhibition Mit H\u00e4nden sprechen<\/em> (2020, Speaking with Hands), which focused on the expression of hands in the work of K\u00e4the Kollwitz, Silent Strength<\/em> turns its attention to moments of pause: situations in which pain gives rise to new strength, or in which the gaze turns inward \u2013 contemplative, observant, resigned.<\/p>\n

In the drawings and state prints on display, we experience K\u00e4the Kollwitz as a seriously inquiring, self-critical, and deeply human artist. Her many revisions and variations are evidence of a persistent struggle for expression and truthfulness \u2013 and today they provide fascinating insights into her artistic practice.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator css=””][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”14202″ img_size=”full” onclick=”img_link_large” css=””][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”14200″ img_size=”full” onclick=”img_link_large” css=”.vc_custom_1761920736429{margin-right: 8px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;margin-left: 8px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Fotos: \u00a9 Sammlung Ute Kahl, K\u00f6ln\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator css=””][vc_column_text css=””]Thanks to the collector<\/strong>
\nIt is thanks to the generosity of Ute Kahl that these precious sheets are not hidden away in private art collections, but can unfold their effect in the dimmed light of the museum. Her contribution makes it possible to rediscover K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s work\u2014as a timeless language of compassion, dignity, and humanity.<\/p>\n

An accompanying publication will be released to accompany the exhibition.[\/vc_column_text]

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

K\u00e4the Kollwitz – Silent Strength
\nNovember 8, 2025 till January 18, 2026<\/p>\n

This special exhibition presents rare drawings and proofs by K\u00e4the Kollwitz from the important private collection of Cologne resident Ute Kahl. The focus is on those works that deal with the aspect of empathy in K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s oeuvre, thus offering a new perspective on the artist’s work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive-exhibition","category-95","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230","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=14230"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14457,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14230\/revisions\/14457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}