Kathe Kollwitz - Print Report
Kathe Kollwitz is regarded as one of the most important German artist's in the 20th Century.The works she created were mostly emotional, showing sorrow, hardship and heatache. Here is an example, named "Old Man with Noose."
This print was created in 1923 and it is a woodcut. Very dark like most of her works - which works effectively with the theme that she worked in. There isn't much light therefore there are only a few cut-out bits making the print have a scary and gloomy approach to the viewer.
The long rectangular shape of the print makes the dominant image of the old man getting ready to hang himself stand out as there isn't much space around him - all focus is on the man. The cuts that Kollwitz made for the light areas behind the man resemble a big light source which could be anything, a window or a fire. The more spaced out lines in the light area on the sides sort of remind me or curtains so there is a possibility that it is a window. The whole of the black on the print isn't only one shade - there is shading going on on the floor and the man's outfit. That could have been done intentionally by not pressing the print down as much to make sure the print doesn't look flat or it was a mistake- it is hard to tell.
The main focal point is the old man's sad facial expression, that is where there most of careful cutting occurred. I enjoy viewing Kathe Kollwitz's prints as they do not bring out any sort of beauty in the world - they show the dark reality and tell a story.
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