Inspiration 1905

Kathe Kollwitz made this charcoal drawing, Inspiration, with a stick, and maybe even fingers! It's interesting to think about what Kollwitz was experiencing when she made this drawing of a figure in distress. You can see the evidence of her searching and questioning in the mark-making, the dark smudges and erasures all over the paper. The texture of the charcoal is so important here; it's rough and gritty and it gives the artwork a raw, unfinished quality. This aligns with Kollwitz's broader practice of portraying human suffering and social injustice through printmaking and sculpture. Her work reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist working in Germany at the turn of the century, who was also concerned with representing the struggles of everyday people. Artists build on the work of those who came before them; they are in an ongoing conversation with each other across time. Like all great works of art, this drawing has a sense of openness that allows for multiple readings.