Käthe KollwitzGerman, 1867–1945The Mothers
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Mothers” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked October 12, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
In this image of maternal protection, Kollwitz portrays a group of mothers banding together to guard their children from exterior threats while preventing them from leaving the safety of the circle. In 1918 Kollwitz responded to the poet Richard Dehmel's appeal to all capable Germans to sacrifice themselves to the death for the Fatherland. She believed that enough people had already fallen and quoted the poet Goethe who wrote, Seed corn must not be ground. The inclusion of a print like this in the War series displays Kollwitz's unique outlook on this theme.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- P.71.145
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — © Minneapolis Institute of Art
In the life of Käthe Kollwitz
The whole life1918–1919
The Working Council for Art and the Liebknecht memorial sheet
A committed socialist and pacifist, eventually attracted to communism, she expressed her political and social sympathies in her woodcut memorial sheet for Karl Liebknecht and in her involvement with the Arbeitsrat für Kunst, part of the Social Democratic government in the first few weeks after the war.
1919
The first woman professor at the Prussian Academy of Arts
In 1919 she was appointed professor and elected a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts, the first woman to hold the post. Membership brought a regular income, a large studio and a full professorship.
1919–1925
Destroys the first monument and begins again
In 1919 she destroyed the monument to her son, and in 1925 she began again.
1924
Her work at the “First General Exhibition of German Art”
In 1924 her work was shown in Moscow at the “First General Exhibition of German Art”.
