Woman with Dead Child

Woman With Dead Child is a 1903 etching by Käthe Kollwitz. Its subject was influenced by her experiences in an underserved sector of Berlin as a physician's wife where disease and infant mortality rate were high.^[1] The image is often considered as Käthe Kollwitz's most famous depiction of war.^[2]

Woman with Dead Child (Frau mit totem Kind)
Artist	Käthe Kollwitz
Year	1903 (1903)
Medium	etching
Movement	Expressionism
Dimensions	54.5 cm × 70.3 cm (21.5 in × 27.7 in)

The picture depicts a mother holding her child between the thighs. Her mouth is fixed on its chest in an effort to suck her child back inside her.^[3]

The artist used herself and her seven-year-old son Peter as models for this composition.^[4]

References

1. "Käthe Kollwitz. Woman with Dead Child (Frau mit totem Kind). 1903". www.moma.org. October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
2. Skye Sherwin, Skye Sherwin (September 13, 2017). "Käthe Kollwitz: Portrait of the Artist review – a brooding tableau of trauma". The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
3. Sherwin, Skye (September 13, 2017). "Käthe Kollwitz: Portrait of the Artist review – a brooding tableau of trauma". The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
4. "Woman with dead Child, 1903". Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln. Retrieved October 18, 2023.