Self Portrait with Hand to Forehead

Artist Käthe Kollwitz German, 1867–1945

Date1910

MediumEtching on paper

Dimensionsimage: 6 × 5 3/8in. (15.2 × 13.7 cm)
paper: 8 1/2 × 7 7/8in. (21.6 × 20 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineBequest of W. R. Valentiner

Object numberG.65.10.41

On View

On view

Label TextBy the early 1900s, Käthe Kollwitz was known as one of the most prominent German artists of the time. Celebrated for her mastery in printmaking and motivated by the plight of the marginalized, Kollwitz mobilized her prominence to continually advocate for women, children, and the working class.

Here, Kollwitz confronts the viewer with her own self-image, shedding any enhancement or embellishments. Instead, she appears with worn features and a hand pressed to her forehead, conveying a sense of despair. Partly created by scratching lines into a metal plate, the etching’s hard-press marks evoke stress and emotion. And, by focusing solely on her face, Kollwitz heightens the work’s intensity, ultimately transforming self-portraiture into a vehicle for political expression.

[Jared Ledesma, Curator of 20th-Century and Contemporary Art]Published References"Acquisitions: The Valentiner Bequest," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 6, no. 4 and 7, no. 2 (1966/67?), mentioned 10, listed 81.

Alice Adams, New Acquisitions 14 (Fall-Winter 1989) (Chicago: Alice Adams, 1989), 23, illus.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Early Twentieth Century German Prints," February 5-May 4, 1986.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, Changing Selections Gallery, "German Prints, 1910-1924," March 18-July 15, 1990.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The Legacy of W. R. Valentiner," January 27-March 29, 1998.

Raleigh, NC. North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection Reimagined," November 7, 2025-present.
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