Eine Mutter 1882

Max Klinger made this print, "A Mother," using etching and aquatint, media which lend themselves to stark contrasts. The scene presents a body on a dock next to a river, being inspected by the authorities. Klinger was German and worked in the late 19th century. He was part of the Symbolist movement, which was preoccupied with dreamlike and often disturbing imagery. The woman in this print is thought to be a prostitute who committed suicide by drowning, a common occurrence in the urban centers of Europe at the time. Note the fashionable buildings nearby, which show this event playing out in a modern city where one class of people can view the tragedy of another from above, as though it is a spectacle. This print invites us to examine the social conditions that led to such desperate acts. Contemporary newspapers and police reports can provide further details about the lives of people in similar situations and allow us to better understand the social commentary Klinger may have been trying to make.