{"id":14934,"date":"2026-02-19T23:10:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/?p=14934"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:45:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T12:45:54","slug":"stage-2-text-and-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/theater\/stage-2-text-and-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Stage 2: Text and performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”vc_default” gap=”35″][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”14976″ img_size=”full” css=””][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]By the end of her studies in Munich in 1889, the young K\u00e4the Schmidt had already begun an artistic adaptation of \u00c9mile Zola’s (1840\u20131902) novel \u201cGerminal\u201d. At the same time, she was also exploring the character of Gretchen from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749\u20131832) \u201cFaust I\u201d.<\/p>\n

After her marriage to Karl Kollwitz (1863\u20131940) in 1891, she continued to work on both themes in Berlin. The premieres of Gerhart Hauptmann’s (1862\u20131946) drama \u201cDie Weber\u201d (The Weavers) on February 26, 1893, and Max Halbe’s (1865\u20131944) \u201cJugend\u201d (Youth) on April 23, 1893, introduced further motifs into her work. She was particularly struck by the successful production of \u201cThe Weavers\u201d, which led her to create her own cycle on this subject by 1897. The presentation of this cycle at the Great Berlin Art Exhibition in 1898 marked her artistic breakthrough. Emperor Wilhelm II’s refusal to award the series was countered by widespread recognition from experts and the public.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”vc_default” full_width=”stretch_row” gap=”35″ content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1770821468858{background-color: #80152A !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”” el_class=”white-h3 white-p”]<\/p>\n

exhibited works:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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