Schlachtfeld (Battlefield), from the series Bauernkrieg (Peasants' War)

Inscriptions

Inscribed, on plate, lower right: 1921/Originalradierung von Kaethe Kollwitz; embossed, lower right: A.V.D. BECKE/MUENCHEN 22

Label

Nearly obscured in the darkness, a woman searches a battlefield, bending to turn over the corpses of fallen soldiers. The face of one young man appears in the beam of her torchlight, disfigured and swollen with decomposition. Her skeletal hand almost caresses him. A highly skilled printmaker, Käthe Kollwitz uses a variety of techniques to build up the tones of this night scene. This print belongs to the artist’s series of the Peasants’ War, another example of which is on view nearby. The image of a woman looking at the dead—perhaps in search of a loved one—however, transcends the historical narrative. In the aftermath of any war, survivors are left to sift through the ravages battle left behind.

Course History

ANTH 50, COCO 2, HIV/AIDS Through a Biosocial Lens: 30 Years of a Modern Plague, Sienna Craig, Timothy Lahey, Spring 2013

GERM 10, Germany and the East, Yuliya Komska, Winter 2013

SART 27, Printmaking I: Intaglio, Louise Hamlin, Spring 2012

SART 27, SART 28, Printmaking I: Intaglio, Printmaking II, Louise Hamlin, Winter 2013

SART 27, SART 28, SART 74, Printmaking I, II, III, Louise Hamlin, Spring 2013

SART 27, SART 28, Printmaking I: Intaglio, Printmaking II, Louise Hamlin, Winter 2012

SART 27, SART 28, Printmaking I-Intaglio, Printmaking II, Louise Hamlin, Winter 2014

SART 27, SART 28, SART 74, Printmaking I, Printmaking II, Printmaking III, Louise Hamlin, Spring 2014

SART 27, 28, 74, Printmaking I-Intaglio, II, III, Ariel Frieberg, Spring 2015

COCO 2.3, ANTH 50.6, HIV/AIDS Through a Bio-social Lens: Thirty Years of a Modern Plague, Sienna Craig, Timothy Lahey, Spring 2015

GEOG 17, Geopolitics and Third World Development, Patricia Lopez, Spring 2015

GEOG 17, Geopolitics and Third World Development, Patricia Lopez, Spring 2015

German Club, Winter 2019

GERM 10.06, A Visual History of Germany, Heidi Denzel, Winter 2022

GERM 7.07, Babylon Berlin, Veronika Fuechtner, Spring 2022

GERM 3.01, Introdoctory German (cont.), Heidi Denzel, Fall 2022

Spanish 31.01, Introduction to Hispanic Literature II, Sebastian Diaz, Winter 2023

Anthropology 3.01, Introduction to Anthropology, Charis Ford Morrison Boke 1, Summer 2023

Studio Art 27.01/28.01/74.01, Printmaking I/II/III, Josh Dannin, Summer 2024

Exhibition History

Fred Wilson, So Much Trouble in the World - Believe It or Not!, William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Jaffe Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 4-December 11, 2005.

Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 17, 2000-January 14, 2001.

Recording War: Images of Violence, 1500-1900, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 23-December 9, 2023.

Publication History

Barbara Thompson, Fred Wilson, So Much Trouble in the World - Believe It or Not!, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2005.

Provenance

Ferdinand Roten Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland; sold to present collection, 1969.

Catalogue Raisonne

A. Klipstein, Kaethe Kollwitz: Verzeichnis des Graphischen Werkes, Bern, 1955, no. 96.

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