Self-Portrait in Profile Looking Right (Selbstbildnis in Profil nach Rechts)
1938
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
lithograph
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1963.11.139
Art Historical Context
In 1938, renowned German artist Käthe Kollwitz created *Self-Portrait in Profile Looking Right*, a poignant lithograph now housed in the National Gallery of's Rosenwald Collection. age 71, Kollwitz captured her own visage in stark profile, gazing rightward with introspective intensity. This print exemplifies her mastery of lithography—a planographic technique where the artist draws directly on a flat stone with greasy crayon, allowing for rich tonal variations and expressive lines that convey deep emotion without color. Kollwitz, a leading figure in German Expressionism, was celebrated for he...
About the Artist
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) was a German artist whose powerful images of poverty, war, and maternal grief established her as the foremost practitioner of socially engaged art in early 20th-century Europe. Working primarily in printmaking—including etching, lithography, and woodcut—as well as drawing and sculpture, Kollwitz created works of raw emotional power that gave voice to the suffering of wor...