Raped, Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz
Raped
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Käthe Kollwitz

Raped, 1907 – 1908

Sheet 2 of the cycle ‘Peasant War’


Blatt
448 x 626 mm
Platte
308 x 528 mm
Physical Description
Line etching, drypoint, sandpaper, reservage, and soft ground
Inventory Number
SG 4230
Object Number
SG 4230 D
Acquisition
Acquired in 1964 from the collection of Helmut and Hedwig Goedeckemeyer
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

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About the Work

Käthe Kollwitz described the image as follows: “It is a woman who has been abducted and, after the destruction of the farmhouse, has been left lying in the herb garden”. Due to the distorted perspective, the half-naked body seems mutilated – an indication of the abuse the farmer’s wife has experienced. The ruined nature around the victim alludes to the destruction of the domestic surroundings, but also to the traditional definition of the female sex as “natural”.

About the Acquisition

Immediately after World War I, the art connoisseur and bibliophile Helmut Goedeckemeyer (1898–1983) began amassing one of the largest collections of prints by Käthe Kollwitz. He supplemented these holdings with works of late nineteenth-century French and German printmaking, illustrated books by Max Slevogt, Alfred Kubin and others, and small-scale sculptures by such artists as Aristide Maillol. His collection ultimately encompassed more than 5,000 works. Goedeckemeyer’s close ties to the Städel Museum date back to the 1920s. From 1959 onwards, he and his wife Hedwig were members of the Städelscher Museums-Verein (Städel Museum Association). The City of Frankfurt acquired his Kollwitz collection for the Städtische Galerie (Municipal Gallery) in 1964. He made several gifts to the Städel collection of prints and drawings over the years, and in 1970 presented the museum with Honoré Daumier’s “Ratapoil” (inv. no. St.P391).

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Last update

10.09.2024