Kathe Kollwitz.

 Kathe Kollwitz, 'Mother with dead child', 1903, Etching, 42 x 48cm.

At first glance its hard to tell exactly what this image is. The subject, with its delicate edges and soft detail blends into the background and it takes a few seconds to decipher what we're looking at. 

Created with a skilled hand through the process of etching 'Mother with dead child' is filled with emotion directed at us with a message from the artist. 

The slumped, lifeless body of the gaunt child lays in the folds of his mothers arms, tightly gripped by the oversized hands in a protective embrace. The child looks weak and fragile against the heavy strength of his mother. 

The image is all about protection and suffering but ultimately loss. 

The German artist Kathe Kollwitz looked at the suffering, hardship and poverty of humans in her works and the war had a major impact on what she produced and her her sculptures relay the same feelings.

' Kathe Kollwitz, 'Mother with twins' 1937, Bronze sculpture.

'Mother with Twins' again shows us the protective urges of parents over their children. This strong, solid piece of sculpture is softened through its subject. The mothers hands, arms and legs wrap around the children trying to protect and shelter them from the harshness of the outside world and the nakedness gives them a togetherness but also a feeling of vulnerability. 

Kollwitz showed her inside self through her work, her personal suffering and heart ache. She lived through 2 wars, lost her son in the trenches and she was heavily scared by the things she witnessed in Nazi Germany. But without this life would she have made these works with such feeling and emotion?

Kathe Kollwitz died in 1945 after producing a large body of work including an ongoing set of self portraits showing, in great depth and honesty, the change in her face through the years. She left her mark on not only the art world but also Germany where over 40 schools are named after her.