Working Woman with a Blue Shawl (Brustbild einer Arbeiterfrau mit Blauern Tuch)

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Working Woman with a Blue Shawl (Brustbild einer Arbeiterfrau mit Blauern Tuch)

Artist Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867-1945)

Date1903

DimensionsOverall: 13 7/8 x 9 5/8 in. (35.2 x 24.4 cm)

MediumLithograph in three colors

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineFrederick B. and Kate L. Shoemaker Fund

Object number

1950.293

Not on View

Label TextKäthe Kollowitz often stated, “I am in the world to change the world.” In 1901 Kollwitz, who had previously focused on etching, set out to experiment with color lithography. Showing tremendous technical skill, in Working Woman with a Blue Shawl she was able to give artistic expression to the injustice experienced by those living in poverty. Here the downcast glance, beleaguered expression, simple garments, enveloping shadows, and somber color sympathetically evoke the burdens of this woman’s difficult life. Herself faced with a life of hardship and great sorrow, Kollwitz offers a timeless tribute to those less fortunate than she. Throughout her long artistic career, she continued to illuminate the conditions of the German working class. See too her prints from the series Krieg (1922–23) in this exhibition.Published ReferencesZigrosser, Carl, Kathe Kollwitz, N.Y., Bittner, 1946, repr. no. 15.

Sievers, 68. Klipstein, August, Kathe Kollwitz, Bern, Klipstein, 1955, no. 68, II/III.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, European Expressionist and Cubist Works on Paper: 1900-1930, December 2, 2011-March 11, 2012 (University of Toledo Student Exhibition).