Portrait of a Working Woman with Blue Shawl

Käthe Kollwitz grew up in a family devoted to radical social reform. While still in school, she realized that her gift was as a draftsman rather than as a painter. She used printmaking as a vehicle for promoting awareness of the plight of Germany’s impoverished working class, particularly women. Whether confrontational or muted, as in Working Woman with Blue Shawl, the emotional intensity of her imagery has earned her recognition as one of the most important printmakers of her era.