Die Liebenden dem Toten (gedenkblatt fur Karl Liebknecht) [The Living for the Dead (memorial for Karl Liebknecht)]

Käthe Kollwitz, artist

1867–1945

Die Liebenden dem Toten (gedenkblatt fur Karl Liebknecht) [The Living for the Dead (memorial for Karl Liebknecht)], 1921

Where object was made: Germany

Material/technique: electro-type woodcut

Dimensions:
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 13 7/8 x 19 7/16 in
Plate Mark/Block Dimensions (Height x Width): 504.82 x 493.71 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 16 7/8 x 14 1/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 428.62 x 611.19 mm
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 x 25 in

Credit line: Gift of Andre Emmerich

Accession number: 1960.0080

Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Teaching Gallery Label:
“Changing the World: Images of Revolution,” Feb-2009, Kate Meyer
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were among the founders of the Berlin Spartakusbund (Spartacus League) that evolved into the Communist Party of Germany. On January 15, 1919, Liebknecht and Luxemburg were shot to death during the Spartacus Revolt on the pretext that they were attempting escape.

In this instance Kollwitz emphasizes grief and the human element over any explicit political reference.

Exhibition Label:
"Printed Art and Social Radicalism," Jun-2002, Stephen Goddard
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were among the founders of the Berlin Spartakusbund (Spartacus League) that evolved into the Communist Party of Germany. On January 15, 1919, Liebknecht and Luxemburg were shot to death during the Spartacus Revolt on the pretext that they were attempting escape.

In this instance Kollwitz emphasizes grief and the human element over any explicit political reference. The version of the print exhibited here is not the original woodcut, but a well-documented reproduction printed around 1921. The need to print this image in a large, mechanically produced edition is testimony to the currency of its theme.