"I want to have an effect during this age in which people are so perplexed and in nee d of help." This sentence, a diary entry from 1922, is the creed of a great artist. It is as topical today as it was then. Kathe Kollwitz (1867 - 1945) achieved worldwide respect with her drawings, printed graphics and sculptures even during her lifetime. W ith her great cycles of graphic works "Ein Weberaufstand" (A Weavers' Revolt) and "Bauernkrieg" (The Peasant War), Kathe Kollwitz demonstrated her skills as a graphic artist at an early stage in a remarkable manner.

From the start of her career her etching s, lithographs and woodcuts were included in the collections of renowned art institutes. Her fame as an artist grew steadily and was acknowledged by countless awards. In 1919 she was even the first woman to be appointed professor by the Prussian Academy of Arts. This new monograph presents with unprecedented density the life and work of Kathe Kollwitz, one of the most important German woman artists of Classic Modernism.

About the Author

Hannelore Fischer is an art historian and director of the K the Kollwitz Museum in Cologne.