Burial

ca. 1903

Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz German, 1867-1945

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Primarily a graphic artist, Kollwitz concentrated on themes related to basic and powerful human emo tions. The heavy charcoal lines in this dramatic work heighten the tragic mood of the scene. Touches of yellow and white illuminate the face of the grieving mother, stoically digging a grave, and high light the face of the child, so serene in death that it heightens the pathos of the scene. This drawing was a study for a scene that was not included in the series of seven etchings entitled "The Peasants' War," which Kollwitz worked on during the years 1903-08.

Title Burial

Artwork Date ca. 1903

Artist Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz

Life Dates 1867-1945

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. German

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Charcoal and pastel with touches of white chalk on light brown cardboard or composition board

Dimensions Sheet: 21 1/2 × 18 7/8 inches (54.6 × 47.9 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 70.308

Markings

Inscriptions Inscribed, in pencil, lower left: 18206 Inscribed, lower center: gibt 6cm breit Inscribed, lower left margin: 3 / -4 -3 / 4 flat chest Inscribed, lower center margin: [2] 206 Inscribed, lower right margin: 12 [in circle] Inscribed, center of page: No. 12; matting notations around composition at top and bottom right, bottom left and lower center Inscribed, in pencil, verso, lower left: 30854

Provenance

1950, sold by (Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, Germany) auction 8, no. 1527

1954, sold by (Klipstein and Co., Bern, Switzerland) cat. 51, no. 84

Buchholz Gallery (New York, New York, USA)

Robert H. Tannahill [1893-1969] (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, USA)

1970-present, bequest to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Uhr, H. German Drawings and Watercolors. New York, 1987, cat. no. 64, pp. 119-120 (ill.).

Uhr, H. Masterpieces of German Expressionism at the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1982, p. 138 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz, Burial, ca. 1903, charcoal and pastel with touches of white chalk on light brown cardboard or composition board. Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.308.