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The futility of war is a common theme in the Irish gallery scene at the moment. Both the Chester Beatty Library and the National Gallery of Ireland are hosting exhibitions depicting the repercussions of ‘men fighting for glory’. Life, Death and War serves as an overview of Käthe Kollwitz’s career spanning across three rooms, which contain her early sketches alongside some of her more controversial projects.

Kollwitz used the whole sheet for her preliminary sketches, the mismatched placement of faces and torsos, betraying an artist lost in their own mind.  This approach culminates in the disproportionate female form of ‘Nude Studies & Self-portrait’ (1900), where her defined head floats atop a faint reclining figure.

Melancholy is abound in her charcoal drawings, such as ‘Junges Paar (Young Couple)’ (1893) and her portraits of working-class women including ‘Female Worker (with Earring)’ (1910) –  all appearing lost in contemplation. While a bold quote on the wall explains that she was inspired to create these images, not out of interest in the plight of the working class, but mainly the beauty she found in their struggle, this is not as off-putting as one might expect. Her decision to depict their lives remains significant.

The second room contains the project Bauernkrieg (c.1902), where Kollwitz visualises the uprising of German peasants in 1525. These prints truly encapsulate the beauty to be found in mass mobilisation.

The highlight of this exhibit is found in her cycle on the effects of war, Krieg – specifically ‘Das Opfer’ (1922). In this image, a mother stands upright, her arms raising her newborn as high as possible, offering it to an unseen force. The symbolism in this print is twofold, with the nakedness of the figures and that both of their eyes are firmly shut implying the blindness and naivety of people who initially supported the war effort and the revolutions that followed. Kollwitz’ open use of her own grief is what makes ‘Das Opfer’ so powerful. She chastises and condemns herself for being that mother figure who stood idly by during the war while her son perished. Although there is very little she could have done as an individual to change what happened, pain doesn’t operate on logical terms.

By eliminating references to specific armies and nations, Kollwitz created universally relatable indictments of the suffering of innocent civilians at the hands of those who place honour and ideology before their fellow man. While the subject matter may be grim for a lunchtime viewing, and contemporary art schools may shun her for being too emphatic in her expression, I recommend that the time is found to appreciate these perceived negatives and ‘My art is not pure art… but it is art nevertheless.’