Käthe Kollwitz (German, 1867-1945) Self-Portrait with Hand on Forehead, 1910 Etching and engraving on paper Miami University purchase 1950.PR.0.95
Käthe Kollwitz’s self-portrait emotes contemplation and deep
emotion. With her hand on her forehead, deep shading in the
area around her eyes, and her head down, you can feel the
weight of her struggles. Through Kollwitz’s writings, it is clear
that she struggled with her mental health and suffered many
hardships. Some women artists felt that if they brought their
emotions into their art it would be classified as feminine
causing it to be undervalued or misinterpreted so they refused
to do so. Kollwitz however stated, “As an artist, I have the
right to extract the emotional content out of everything.” She
refused to mold her work to the expectations of others and
always created from what inspired her.