I accompanied my wife today on a trip to the Museum of Modern Art to see several shows, one on the work of Käthe Kollwitz, the artist-activist (1867-1945).
She went from fine art to black and white work (easiest to reproduce in quantity) that supported her socialist views. Like many other socialists, she was inflamed by nationalism and supported the Army at the start of the Great War, soon dispelled when her 18-year-old son Peter was killed at the front in October 1914. Poorly trained young troops of Reserve corps were thrown into attacks at the first battle of Ypres. The photos below are likely of that battle. The first photo is a true rarity, showing both defenders and attackers in the same shot. Looking at the attackers in the distance, you can see that one of them is mounted, an officer, no doubt. In the foreground the British Expeditionary Force riflemen wait for the word to open fire. Note the dense formation of the attackers. This photo is from John Keegan’s Face of Battle.
The second photo shows what I believe to be the aftermath of that same attack, from Volume 1 number 8 issue of Purnell’s History of the Great War. Note the dead horse and officer, along with a number of dead infantrymen. If I’m right, the photographer had moved to his right after the attack was repulsed to get closer to the center of the action. It is likely that Käthe’s son was killed during such an action. The lack of shell holes indicates there was not a preliminary bombardment worthy of the name.
Käthe Kollwitz narrowly avoided being sent to a
concentration camp during WWII, in part due to her international reputation. She
died shortly before the war was over, having fled bombed-out Berlin for Saxony.
She outlived her husband Karl who died of disease in 1940 and her grandson Peter
who was killed in combat in 1942.
Sometimes I struggle with the background colors. This is one of those times. Sigh.
4 comments:
Very interesting post and some very poignant pictures. Not an artist I know about so good to glean some information on her.
What a brutal life story. As terrible as the loss of life was in the more familiar trench warfare of the Great War, it is not so generally understood that the losses and loss ratios were much higher during the open warfare period in 1914. Somehow, seeing the dead horse amidst the casualties in that second picture delivers an extra sense of tragedy.
Most interesting! You have me reaching for my books and trying to learn more.
Very interesting and sober post.
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