Mother with Child 1933

This is Kathe Kollwitz’s “Mother with Child,” made with charcoal, and you can feel the making in every stroke. The beauty of this drawing comes from its simplicity, the textures created by the charcoal on paper, that contrast of light and shadow that creates depth. Look closely at the way Kollwitz uses these smudgy, expressive lines to define the forms of the figures. See how she captures the weight and warmth of the mother’s embrace, the child's face nestled against her. The charcoal marks feel raw and immediate, like she’s wrestling with the material to bring forth something real. The way she's built up the tone in the mother’s dress with these short, hatched marks, it feels like she's sculpting with light and shade, giving it a real sense of volume. It’s almost sculptural, like you could reach out and touch it. Kollwitz reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, with the way they both turned to images of mothers and children, but where Modersohn-Becker feels more classical, Kollwitz is raw and full of feeling. I love them both, these women have such unique insights and visions, and are still inspiring artists today.