13 Items in this Learning Collection
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Copyright
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Arbeitsfrau mit dem Ohrring

Accession Number
1983/1.265

Title
Arbeitsfrau mit dem Ohrring

Artist(s)
Käthe Kollwitz

Artist Nationality
German (culture, style, period)

Object Creation Date
1910

Medium & Support
etching on paper

Dimensions
23 1/8 in x 17 11/16 in (58.74 cm x 44.93 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of the Marvin Felheim Collection

Subject matter
Kollwitz was well-known as a printmaker and often used the medium in the service of social commentary. Since they are easily reproducible, she understood their value as a way to reach a large number of people. Her subjects were often the working class patients of her doctor husband, Karl Kollwitz. This portrait is likely a nod to the iconic Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (ca. 1665, Mauritshuis) that was moved to The Hague at the beginning of the century. 

Physical Description
This etching is a portrait of a woman; just her face is visible. The background is almost solidly black, and the darkness encrouches on the portrait. The woman looks off the left of the page, and a small earring is visible on her right ear. The print is signed in pencil (l.r.) "Kathe Kollwitz".

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Expressionism
Figures
Portraits
bust-length
earrings (jewelry)
jewelry
modern and contemporary art
portraits
woman
women (female humans)
working class

9 Related Resources

German Secessionists
(Part of 2 Learning Collections)
Expressionism - independent Artists
(Part of 2 Learning Collections)
W19 Marchalonis - ARTDES 235 - Introduction to Printmaking
(Part of: Resources Made by Isabel Engel)
Sickness and Suffering
(Part of: History of Medicine - American Association of Historians of Medicine (AAHM))
W20 - AP Art History Skyline
(Part of: Resources Made by Isabel Engel)
W20 Puff - German 416 - Working with Visuals - Faces (1/23)
(Part of: Examples of Past Course Collections)

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved