Zertretene

Zertretene. – Leichnam und Frauenakt am Pfahl (The Downtrodden - Corpse and Nude Woman at Post) Medium: Line etching, drypoint, aquatint and burnisher Year: Date of Impression 1963-1972. Date of Plate 1900. Edition : Posthumous impression Publisher: Alexander von der Becke. Von der Becke two-line Munich blindstamp lower right corner of image. References: Klipstein 48, Knesebeck 49ter-c/c Size: 9-1/4 x 24-3/8 inches(239 x 628 mm) Description: Although very similar in composition to From Many Wounds ..., this composition was a direct result of Kollwitz’s concern over the marginalization and ghettoization of the German working class. Originally the work had an additional panel to the left that contained the contemporary figures of a man, woman and child. It was meant to convey that their plight was one of poverty from birth to death with no chance of escape. The allegorical figures shown in this version once again depict the worker as martyr, only this time there is an additional figure stepping from behind the bound woman who confronts the viewer directly. She extends her hand toward the viewer in inquiry and challenge asking “What will you do to change this?”