Bread! 1924

This is Kathe Kollwitz's print "Bread!", made with charcoal and lithography, here at the British Museum. The drawing is dark and a bit scratchy, which feels like a mirror of the harsh realities it depicts. I can almost feel the weight of that charcoal in her hand, pressing down to make those lines, each one a mark of desperation. Look at the way the mother's body bends, burdened not just by her children, but by something bigger, something societal. Kollwitz is not just showing us poverty, she's asking us to feel it. It reminds me a bit of Goya's works; both artists were unafraid to show the raw, ugly side of life. The starkness gets to me. It's not just about the absence of color but about the absence of hope. But isn't that what art is for? To make us see, to make us feel, even when it's uncomfortable?