1903
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Working Woman with Blue Shawl is a 1903 by Käthe Kollwitz, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a blue shawl looks straight at you, her hands clasped, her face tired. The lines on her skin and the shadows under her eyes show hard work. Kollwitz made this print so ordinary people could afford it. She wanted to show the lives of Berlin’s poor—workers, mothers, people often ignored. The woman’s gaze feels real, like she’s right in front of you. To see more of Kollwitz’s honest, powerful portraits, look up artist: Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867–1945).
Käthe Kollwitz favored printmaking because she saw it as a democratic medium, affordable and capable of reaching all social classes. In prints such as this portrait of a female worker, she depicted Berlin’s most disenfranchised inhabitants. The sitter’s direct gaze and exhausted pose suggest not only her difficult living and working conditions but also her dignity.
Käthe Kollwitz's husband was a doctor who treated the working poor in Berlin, giving her firsthand experience with their struggles.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Käthe Kollwitz (German pronunciation: born Schmidt; 8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture.
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