Summary Of The Painting 'Working Woman With Earring'

As I made my way around the Tweed Museum of Art I came across an etching done by Kathe Kollwitz. “Working Woman with Earring” caught my attention due to the black and white that emphasized the emotional use of color. I analyzed the art piece by considering the following: what I know, what I see, what I feel, the differences between that time in history and now, how the piece of art embodies the culture and values of its time and place and the relationship between the form and content. To begin learning more about the art’s meaning, I researched the artist. Kathe Kollwitz was born in what is now known as Kaliningrad, Russia in 1867. Kathe established herself as a female artist who portrayed women and her subject’s predicaments during the

The darkness behind the lady portrayed along with the lines is the form and it translates as an unhappy woman who is working during the era of the World Wars, most likely Kollwitz is signaling that the woman has gone through a lot in life, which is visible in the expression of the face. The artist strategically placed the lines to create shadowing and texture, which put more attention on the feeling of the work. The lady’s hair is in a bun and she is wearing what seems to be a sweater or blanket that could mean she doesn’t have time or care about beauty and is cold. The earring signifies a more feminine side to the woman, while she is most likely working and providing for herself and family which was commonly done by men at the time. The piece has noticeably harsh lines that are used in a precise technique called cross hatching that highlights the coarse texture of the image. Elements in her art are very expressive, there's a complete understanding of the anatomy where lines are able to become powerfully abstract in a unique way. The use of black and white is common in the majority of Kathe Kollwitz art, and like this one she uses the dark and light to emphasize emotion. The expression on the woman’s face is neutral, yet there seems to be more of a sad feeling in the portrait. The subject matter is not looking straightforward and she has dark under eye circles that show how tired she is. The woman is

Her expressionist art was reflective of the time period. Expressionism refers to art of an image that is distorted in favor of the artist’s attitude and feelings toward the subject. In the art outline it states that there was an “emphasis on the artist’s subjective psychological response to the subject”. As an advocate, Kollwitz purposely made her art filled with emotions to create a message that was powerful enough to persuade people to help others. For example, the etch along with many of her artwork was done in black and white, which aren’t normally used to express happy emotions. Her son had died due to the war, so she was transferring her sorrow into her art. In order to accomplish a distorted and exaggerated product the artist commonly used a dynamic application of formal elements. It was an art period that typically consisted on extreme use of color and non-naturalistic strokes that made the art highly textured, which is what Kathe Kollwitz also did by use of harsh lines. Techniques used convey the emotional state of the artist's view of the world. Taking place in Germany, the common feeling in artwork consisted of “angst”, the german words for anxiety or anguish. It translates as the anxious and worrying feeling that something is wrong or about one’s current choices impacting an unknown future. Often confused with Impressionism,