The suicide of Käthe Kollwitz’ cousin Else Rautenberg in 1920 is, according to a diary entry, »the saddest event« for the artist in that year. Her exploration of this incident is reflected in this woodcut from 1921.
The interpretation of death is given a completely new aspect in this work. Death is not depicted as a power that grips living beings in order to destroy them, but as a force that gives refuge to a person who – maybe after a long and painful struggle – has arrived at Death’s door.
Shrouded in a wide cloak and held by Death’s strong hand, the dead woman can rest and find peace in his lap. Her head rests on his breast and her open mouth conveys the image of a final exhalation. The clogs on the left-hand edge of the picture also bear witness to her letting go, they can be interpreted as a sign of leaving worldly burdens behind.
A filigree crown of thorns lies on the ground in front of the crouching woman, a symbol of suffering from Christian iconography. Käthe Kollwitz transfers the symbol to the laid down suffering of life, from which death redeems the woman:
That's what I thought,
that Death takes the woman gently.
The crown of thorns remains at the bottom.
Or maybe he lays it down gently,
but she no longer wears the thorns.«
Käthe Kollwitz, in: Beate Bonus Jeep, Sechzig Jahre Freundschaft mit Käthe Kollwitz
The emphatic charcoal and chalk drawings are draft variants with which the artist approaches the final version.
Käthe Kollwitz, Death takes a Woman, 1921, charcoal and black crayon on Ingres paper, NT 883
Käthe Kollwitz, Death takes a Woman, 1921, black crayon on blue laid paper, NT 884
Käthe Kollwitz, Death takes a Woman, 1921/1922, charcoal, black and brown crayon, blotted, on olive-brown laid paper, NT 885