The Volunteers (Die Freiwilligen)

European Art

Käthe Kollwitz explored the physical and spiritual dimensions of the human condition through printmaking, a medium that resonated for German artists eager to renew the tradition of Northern Renaissance masters such as Albrecht Dürer. After losing one of her sons in World War I, Kollwitz produced a portfolio of seven stark and emotionally raw woodcuts about the brutality of war and its consequent grief and devastation. The Volunteers depicts a line of young soldiers, including her own son Peter, marching behind the skeletal figure of Death playing a war drum. In The Widow, the harsh texture of the woodcut intensifies the visceral sensation of the woman’s anguish. With no narrative details to place her figure in a particular time or place, the work stands as a universal image of loss and mourning.

Titus Kaphar: Historically, we look at the world from one perspective. When we look even at the politics of the time, the victors get to tell that story. We don’t look at the perspective of the folks who are dying on the battlefield. We look at the perspective of the folks who won that particular war because they wrote that history. I think what it is to be in this moment right now is to know that ultimately there are many perspectives. . . . To some degree, it’s about making space to hear those other voices and in other cases correcting the record by going back in time and saying, “Wait, actually, there were some folks who were saying stuff. . .” We have to acknowledge that there were folks who existed, who resisted, who said, “No, I’m not going to fall into that same trap.” I think it behooves us to highlight those people more. These are powerful.

PORTFOLIO/SERIES Krieg, Plate 2

ARTIST Käthe Kollwitz, German, 1867–1945

PUBLISHER Emil Richter, Dresden

MEDIUM Woodcut on wove paper

Place Made: Germany

DATES 1922–1923

DIMENSIONS image: 13 3/4 x 19 9/16 in. (34.9 x 49.7 cm) sheet: 19 × 25 3/4 in. (48.3 × 65.4 cm)

SIGNATURE Signed, "Kathe Kollowitz" in pencil, lower right margin

INSCRIPTIONS Lower left in graphite: "88/100"; lower right in graphite: "Bl. 2 zn Folge: Krieg/Die Freiwilligen"; lower right in graphite: "Käthe Kollwitz"

COLLECTIONS European Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 44.201.2

CREDIT LINE Carll H. de Silver Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

STATE IVb/IVd

EDITION Edition: 88/100

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Collection Menu

The Volunteers (Die Freiwilligen)

European Art

RELATED OBJECTS