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Käthe Kollwitz and The Weavers' Revolt
In 1893, German artist Käthe Kollwitz attended a performance of Gerhart Hauptmann's play The Weavers. Inspired by the theatrical depiction of labour oppression, she created her first major print series, A Weavers' Revolt. The project established her focus on social criticism, working-class struggle, and graphic printmaking techniques. Inspiration and A Weavers' Revolt Käthe Kollwitz was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, in 1867. She trained initially as a painter, but turned to printmaking around 1890 to produce images centred on social criticism. Attending Gerhart Hauptmann's play The Weavers in 1893 inspired her to depict the severe hardships of industrial workers. Kollwitz wrote that Hauptmann's drama helped her recognise art's capacity to transform ugly reality into something deceptively grand. Between 1893 and 1897, she developed her six-plate series titled A Weavers' Revolt. In the lithograph Need, executed between 1893 and 1897, she depicted a dark, cramped room where a despairing mother holds her head while watching her sleeping infant. The series concluded with prints such as March of the Weavers in 1897. At the 1898 Great Berlin Art Exhibition, the jury voted to award Kollwitz a gold medal for A Weavers' Revolt. Emperor Wilhelm II rejected the decision, stating that granting a medal to a woman went too far. Conservative critics supported this exclusion. Hans Rosenhagen, editor of a German magazine, claimed that women's art lacked powerful expression, originality of invention, and depth of feeling. Despite these institutional obstacles, Kollwitz continued using historical accounts and direct observation of economic inequality to construct direct visual statements equal in emotional intensity to the work of Edvard Munch. Printmaking Techniques and Social Reality In 1891, Käthe Kollwitz married Karl Kollwitz, a physician who treated working-class families. The couple established their home in a proletarian quarter of Berlin, where Kollwitz witnessed the physical and emotional distress of industrialisation. To record these conditions, she chose printmaking because it was immediate and accessible. She focused primarily on etching until about 1911, before expanding into lithography to create direct graphic compositions. Kollwitz reduced her visual compositions to essential gestures and forms, eliminating extra detail to ensure her depictions of working-class struggle remained direct and universally understandable. Kollwitz drew artistic inspiration from various sources, including an 1871 illustration by Arthur Boyd Houghton published in the magazine The Graphic. In her 1903 etching Woman with Dead Child, she produced a raw portrait of maternal grief, depicting a mother clinging tightly to her deceased infant. Later, when commissioned by the Society for Historical Art (Verbindung für Historische Kunst) to illustrate the German Peasants' Revolt of 1522 to 1524, Kollwitz used herself as the visual model for the revolutionary figure Black Anna in preparatory drawings. In the fifth plate of that series, Black Anna raises her arms to urge a crowd of peasants into battle. Tod (Death) (BM 2018,7046.1). Public domain; source: Wikimedia Commons. Political Commitments and Opposition Kollwitz was raised in a family with radical political and religious beliefs. After reading August Bebel's 1883 treatise Woman under Socialism, she formed the belief that female emancipation required a socialist society. Although she viewed herself as a moderate socialist, political violence by the Free Corps pushed her views further to the left. Following the assassination of communist leader Karl Liebknecht, his family asked Kollwitz to create a death-bed portrait. Her response, Commemorative Print for Karl Liebknecht, marked her first experiment with the woodcut medium, serving as a visual memorial to Liebknecht and the working class. The Liebknecht woodcut appeared at the Workers' Art Exhibition in Berlin in 1920. Kollwitz donated her earnings from print sales to fund similar public exhibitions. She also designed posters for anti-famine campaigns organised by International Workers' Aid, collaborating alongside cultural figures such as Albert Einstein, George Grosz, Henri Barbusse, Upton Sinclair, and Maxim Gorky. Her art generated opposition from the political left as well as conservative groups. In 1920, the communist newspaper Die rote Fahne published a critique asserting that her prints overemphasised hopelessness rather than encouraging active armed resistance. Kollwitz defended her practice by clarifying that her work represented life itself rather than mere social misery. War, Grief, and the Woodcut Medium The outbreak of the First World War altered Kollwitz's personal life and artistic direction. Her youngest son, Peter, died in combat in 1914. Devastated by his death, Kollwitz embraced pacifism and redirected her prints toward themes of mourning, sacrifice, and human suffering. Around 1920, inspired by the wood sculptures and prints of Ernst Barlach, she began working with woodcuts. The woodcut process allowed her to move away from classical graphic detail toward opaque, exaggerated shapes that heightened the emotional weight of her figures. Between 1918 and 1923, Kollwitz created her woodcut portfolio Krieg (War), which was published in 1924. The series addressed the aftermath of conflict through simplified, heavy forms. She applied this woodblock technique to individual prints, including Infant Mortality in 1925, which depicted a mother overwhelmed by sorrow using stark black tones. Kollwitz intended her prints to remain widely accessible in price and message to working people. However, art publishers Emil Richter and Alexander von der Becke encouraged her to produce limited special printings alongside regular runs to cater to a private market of art collectors. Prussian Academy and Later Years In January 1920, the post-war socialist government appointed Kollwitz to the Prussian Academy of Arts, making her the first woman elected to the institution. She maintained her dedication to portraying the poor and unemployed throughout the Weimar era. When the National Socialist regime took power, authorities expelled Kollwitz from the academy and banned her from exhibiting her work in galleries. Despite this official ban, Nazi propaganda agencies occasionally appropriated her graphic imagery without her consent. During the Second World War, Allied bombing raids damaged Berlin severely. In one air raid, Kollwitz's Berlin apartment was destroyed, resulting in the loss of numerous original drawings and prints. She relocated to the town of Moritzburg to escape further bombing. Kollwitz died in Moritzburg in 1945, approximately two weeks before the official surrender of Germany. Over a career spanning five decades, she produced 275 distinct prints, working almost exclusively in black and white to document social inequality, maternal grief, political struggle, and the destruction of war.
Freyja and the Brísingamen
Loki approached Brísingamen in seal form, but Heimdall followed in the same guise and fought him on Vágasker. Heimdall recognised Loki, stopped the theft, and returned Freyja’s necklace, while related accounts connect the ornament with Hâma in Beowulf and with Loki’s later deception. Heimdall Reclaims Brísingamen Loki slid towards Brísingamen on the sea rock Vágasker, also called Singasteinn, the ornament rock. The necklace lay there glittering above Ægir’s realm. Freyja had worn it while seeking Svipdag and finding him beneath the waves. She and the necklace had remained for a time in the sea, which gave Brísingamen the epithet fagrt hafnýra, “the fair kidney of the sea”. Its light over the water also explains Freyja’s name Mardöll, “the one diffusing a glimmering in the sea”. Loki took the shape of a seal. A seal climbing onto the skerry would cause no suspicion. He moved towards the necklace, but another seal came after him. Heimdall had seen the attempt and assumed the same shape. The two fought on Vágasker. Their disguises could not conceal their eyes, and Heimdall recognised the cunning descendant of Farbauti. Loki withdrew without completing his theft. Heimdall recovered Brísingamen and returned it to Freyja. Other accounts preserve related versions. In the saga of Olaf Tryggvason, Loki entered Freyja’s locked bower as a fly, found a minute opening beneath the roof, then bit her cheek after changing into a flea. When she turned, he resumed his own shape and unclasped the necklace. The saga names the smiths Alfrig, Dvalin, Berling and Grer, and says that Loki acted after telling Odin how Freyja had obtained it. In Beowulf, Heimdall appears as Hâma and brings Brosingamene to Asgard. The poem calls it the finest ornament under heaven. Hâma later falls into Eormenric’s snares. This has been compared with Saxo’s traps for Liserus, identified with Heimdall, and Hadding. Source note: Primary text: the ancient sources. Corpus check: Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland. Freyja Teaches Seiðr Freyja taught seiðr to the Æsir. She was Njörðr’s daughter and a blótgyðja, a priestess of sacrifices. The Ynglingasaga says that she was the first to teach the practice to the Æsir, as it had been customary among the Vanir. This account presents her teaching as the introduction of sorcery among the gods. Another source describes Freyja as the first to practise sorcery in Ásgarðr. It also connects the spread of these arts with Gulveig-Heið, and names Aurboda among the giantesses who attended Freyja. Óðinn learned seiðr from Freyja and became its supreme master. The Ynglingasaga places this statement within a longer account of his powers. Óðinn could change his shape. His body could lie as if asleep or dead while he appeared as a bird, an animal, a fish, or a serpent. In that form, he could travel to distant lands in a single moment, for his own errands or those of other people. He could also use words to put out a fire and calm the sea. The account distinguishes these powers from the practice of seiðr while describing them together. Freyja could also appear in bird form. She chose half of the slain warriors each day and received them in Fólkvangr. Later accounts mention völur, or seeresses, and seiðmenn, male sorcerers. A passage in Hyndluljóð traces völur to Viðólfr, vitkar to Vilmeiðr, and seiðberendr to Svarthöfði. Freyja Teaches Seiðr. Original MythSource illustration created for this story; not a historical artwork. Source note: Primary text: the ancient sources. Corpus check: Price, The Viking Way. Freyja Threatens Hyndla Freyja rode through the night on Battle-hog, a boar with golden bristles made by the dwarfs Dain and Nabbi. Óttar, her protégé, was disguised as the boar. He needed knowledge of his ancestry to defend his claim to an inheritance against Angantyr. Freyja brought him to the giantess Hyndla and asked her to recount the lineages of princes descended from the gods. Freyja called Hyndla her sister and tried to persuade her to help. Hyndla answered with insults and accused Freyja of taking Óttar on the road to Valhall. Freyja denied this and praised Battle-hog. Hyndla suggested that one of her wolves should race beside the boar. Freyja replied that her excellent steed should not be overloaded. She then urged Hyndla to sit with her and discuss the ancestry Óttar needed. Hyndla settled down and recounted Óttar’s ancestors, but refused to ride with Freyja to Valhall. The poem turns briefly to another prophecy before returning to the conversation. Freyja asks for memory-ale, so that Óttar can remember the words spoken and repeat them on the third morning, when he and Angantyr compare their lineages. Hyndla refuses. She says that she wants to sleep and that Freyja will get little from her. Freyja threatens to surround Hyndla’s dwelling with fire from the troll-woman, leaving her no escape. Hyndla sees fire burning and the earth aflame. She asks that the beer placed in Óttar’s hand be mixed with much poison, so that it will bring him misfortune. Freyja rejects the curse and says that it will have no effect. She prays that the gods will aid Óttar and declares that he will drink precious liquor. The ale gives him what he needs to remember the genealogical account and support his claim against Angantyr. Source note: Primary text: the ancient sources.
Alma-Tadema's Rome: Marble, Flowers and Invention
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema reconstructed ancient Roman life by combining archaeological discoveries with painted architectural settings. His compositions merged physical evidence from Pompeian excavations with imaginative visual arrangements, creating detailed scenes of classical antiquity for Victorian audiences. Archaeological Discoveries and Roman Genre Painting Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was born in Dronrijp in 1836 and trained as a painter before moving to England in 1870. He initially depicted medieval and Egyptian history, but shifted his artistic attention to classical antiquity following a honeymoon in Pompeii in 1863. During the mid-to-late 1860s, British painters developed a strong interest in scenes of daily Roman life. This movement coincided with systematic excavations at Pompeii led by Giuseppe Fiorelli. Fiorelli instituted survey methods and published maps dividing the town into regiones and insulae. He also opened an on-site museum. These efforts allowed artists to observe Roman social spaces within documented physical contexts. Alma-Tadema drew direct inspiration from literary texts and historical scholarship. His 1867 painting Glaucus and Nydia took its subject directly from Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Last Days of Pompeii. The artist combined archaeological findings with social history to make the ancient past familiar to nineteenth-century viewers. His career in London expanded through portrayals of Roman subjects as well as Greek and Egyptian themes that demonstrated antiquarian knowledge. In addition to easel pictures, Alma-Tadema designed stage settings, including scenery for Sir Henry Irving's 1901 production of Coriolanus at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Recreating Pompeian Ceremonies and Interiors In his 1870 canvas The Vintage Festival, Alma-Tadema depicted a Roman religious rite dedicated to the god of wine. A priestess adorned with ivy leaves and grapes leads a formal procession through a painted domestic interior. Worshippers follow her while playing the tibia and tympana, while attendants carry a liknon containing vintage grapes. In the background of the composition, additional figures dance with tympana. This arrangement references the Bacchanalian rites recorded by the historian Livy, whose writings detailed the public prohibition of Bacchic worship in 186 BCE. The setting of The Vintage Festival contains specific Pompeian markers. A floor inscription on the far left names Marcus Holconius Rufus, a public official known from historical inscriptions and statues. By placing the ceremony inside a private residence, Alma-Tadema established a distinct local setting for the ritual. However, he also introduced elements from other locations. A background statue represents the Prima Porta Augustus, which was discovered in 1863 at Livia's villa outside Rome. Alma-Tadema brought together items from disparate geographical origins to build elaborate visual settings. Alma-Tadema - The Roses of Heliogabalus. Public domain; source: Wikimedia Commons. Inventive Alteration of Classical Artefacts A prominent component of The Vintage Festival is a painted wall panel depicting Hercules and Queen Omphale. The composition derives from a fresco uncovered in the House of Marcus Lucretius at Pompeii, now preserved in the Naples Archaeological Museum. In the original ancient fragment, the background is blue. Alma-Tadema modified the scene by changing the background colour to red and adding extra figures. He also painted white wings onto a small cupid hovering near Hercules. In another canvas, titled A Juggler, he rendered the same subject against a green background. The Hercules and Omphale panel occupies a central position within the painted interior of The Vintage Festival. The narrative portrays Hercules wearing women's clothes and spinning wool as punishment for the murder of Iphitus, while Omphale holds his lion skin and club. This reversal of traditional gender roles offers a cautionary message regarding Bacchic excesses. Alma-Tadema placed this modified fresco in pristine condition, presenting an immaculate interior that differed from damaged archaeological fragments. The artist used such altered artefacts as authenticating markers within invented compositions. Perspective and Surface Detail in A Coign of Vantage Alma-Tadema's 1895 oil painting A Coign of Vantage demonstrates his technical execution of spatial depth and material textures. The canvas measures 64.2 centimetres high by 45 centimetres wide. It depicts three Roman women observing the return of galleys from a high marble ledge. The composition creates a clear sense of vertical elevation, contrasting the figures in the foreground with the distant sea far below. Warm sunlight falls across the architectural structure, illuminating the various elements of the scene. The artist paid close attention to surface details throughout A Coign of Vantage. He rendered the woven fabric of the women's clothing alongside the smooth grain of the marble ledge. He also depicted the metallic surface of a sculpted bronze beast with detailed brushwork. The complex perspective connects the elevated viewpoint directly to the sea below. Through careful handling of light and geometry, Alma-Tadema constructed a quiet moment of observation set against Mediterranean scenery. Architectural and Natural Murals of Roman Villas Archaeological evidence from ancient Roman villas reveals how Roman painters used wall surfaces to construct spatial illusions. At the villa of Boscoreale, located one mile from Pompeii and excavated in 1900, a bedroom preserved architectural wall paintings created shortly before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Red marble columns adorned with golden acanthus leaves rise from a marble base toward an entablature. The painted architecture incorporates unified perspective and directional cast shadows that match the actual window light inside the room. These Roman wall decorations ranged from urban architecture to natural environments. While Boscoreale featured painted portals alongside altars and granary towers, the subterranean room at the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta presented a continuous garden view without structural framing. Executed around ten years after the Boscoreale murals, the Prima Porta paintings portray pomegranates, laurels, oleanders, and cypresses behind a low stone wall. Blackbirds and jays move among the foliage alongside partridges. These ancient murals provided visual models that nineteenth-century artists like Alma-Tadema studied when visualising Roman interiors.