Secondly, in 1897 Kollwitz created the series A Weaver’s Revolt after being inspired by Gerhart Hauptmann’s play Die Weber (The Weavers, 1892) which demonstrated the failed revolt of Silesian weavers against mechanisation in 1844. This play also inspired the artist Anna Molska who created a short film titled The Weavers (2009), also being shown at the Ikon Gallery. Kollwitz’s cycle is by no means intended as an illustration of the play, instead, the print series focuses universal themes such as the desire for freedom and powerlessness of the oppressed. The final version of the series consists of three lithographs and three etchings, which will all be discussed. For instance, the first print ‘Need’ (Fig. 5) depicts the quiet despair of a mother
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Although the series is based on historic events, it also anticipates tragedies that unfolded across Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. The sequence begins with ‘The Ploughmen’ (Fig. 12) in which a father and son are harnessed to a plough like beasts of burden. In the second print ‘Raped’, (Fig. 13) an abused peasant lies bloodied and torn amidst the plants in her devastated garden. The visual narrative suggests that it is this rape that provokes the peasants to rebel. In a letter to Georg Stolterforth in 1908, Kollwitz said of this print: “It is an abducted woman, who after the devastation of her cottage is left lying in the herb garden, while her child, who had run away, looks over the fence.” The third print entitled ‘Sharpening the Scythe’ (Fig. 14) focuses on one of the rebels, Black Anna who is depicted dreaming of revenge. Kollwitz underlines the universal theme of revenge, whilst infusing the print with a sense of dread as the woman sharpens her tool. Her face dominates the print with her eyes narrowed to menacing slits and her masculine hand positioned centrally; perhaps Kollwitz saw herself in this character as clear comparisons can be made with her self-portraits. Also, ‘The Prisoners’ (Fig. 15) depicts inmates being herded together in preparation for punishment and
Although the series is based on historic events, it also anticipates tragedies that unfolded across Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. The sequence begins with ‘The Ploughmen’ (Fig. 12) in which a father and son are harnessed to a plough like beasts of burden. In the second print ‘Raped’, (Fig. 13) an abused peasant lies bloodied and torn amidst the plants in her devastated garden. The visual narrative suggests that it is this rape that provokes the peasants to rebel. In a letter to Georg Stolterforth in 1908, Kollwitz said of this print: “It is an abducted woman, who after the devastation of her cottage is left lying in the herb garden, while her child, who had run away, looks over the fence.” The third print entitled ‘Sharpening the Scythe’ (Fig. 14) focuses on one of the rebels, Black Anna who is depicted dreaming of revenge. Kollwitz underlines the universal theme of revenge, whilst infusing the print with a sense of dread as the woman sharpens her tool. Her face dominates the print with her eyes narrowed to menacing slits and her masculine hand positioned centrally; perhaps Kollwitz saw herself in this character as clear comparisons can be made with her self-portraits. Also, ‘The Prisoners’ (Fig. 15) depicts inmates being herded together in preparation for punishment and