Press release 6/9/2017

An exhibition of prints and drawings by the German artist Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945) was formally opened in the National Gallery of Ireland on Tuesday 5th September by H.E. Matthias Höpfner, German Ambassador to Ireland.

The exhibition features 40 prints and drawings, specially selected from the superb collection at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. Kollwitz’s five print cycles: Revolt of the Weavers (1893-98), Peasant War (1902-08), War (1921-22), Proletariat (1924-25) and Death (1934-37) place her among the foremost printmakers of the twentieth century. The exhibition also includes two new works by Kollwitz, which were acquired by the Gallery earlier this year: Working Woman with a Blue Shawl, 1903 and Self-Portrait in Profile, 1927.

Kollwitz created almost 300 prints, around 20 sculptures and some 1,450 drawings during her long career. This exhibition will allow visitors to reflect on the effects of war, in particular the grief left in its wake.

Käthe Kollwitz: Life Death and War is on view in the Print Gallery from 6 September 2017 to 10 December. Admission is free. An illustrated brochure is also available, free of charge. 

Anne Hodge, curator of the exhibition, will give an introductory talk on the exhibition in the Gallery’s Lecture Theatre, on Sunday 8 October at 3pm (free). There will also be music events commemorating World War I, curated by Kaleidoscope in association with the Goethe-Institut. For details see www.nationalgallery.ie