Tod Und Frau (Death and the Woman)

Käthe Kollwitz is considered one of the most notable European printmakers of the twentieth century. As a German artist who lived and worked during both world wars, Kollwitz’s artwork frequently features motifs of grief and loss. Tod Und Frau depicts a nude woman being trapped by Death as a child desperately reaches for her. Kollwitz portrays this woman as actively struggling against Death. While Death is a bony skeleton, the woman is a very strong and muscular figure. Kollwitz has been regarded as a feminist artist because in her work, she portrayed the struggles of women during wartime, which is evident in Tod Und Frau. Kollwitz’s artwork gave representation to women facing violence and death during wartime.

Most artworks featuring mothers and children from this time depict domestic or pastoral settings; however, Kollwitz made the decision to show a mother and child being ripped apart in a violent scene. Kollwitz turned Death into a monster lurking in the background, which brings the viewer’s attention to the domestic relationship being destroyed in the foreground. Kollwitz’s work has been rightfully categorized as political protest in response to war, due to the scenes of loss and grief featured in her work. Kollwitz died in 1945 – just sixteen days before the end of World War II.

– Nova Lee, Class of 2026