Between 1910 and 1912 Käthe Kollwitz created a number of remarkable charcoal drawings in which she elaborated the motifs of sitting and squatting in a highly unconventional manner.
She studied the physical expression of her strongly built models by making them adopt unflattering, occasionally even crude postures. The influence of Degas is unmistakable. The women put one foot on a parapet, hands on their hips, sit on pedestals with tucked-up legs or legs spread, or squat on the floor in a crouching position.
