Käthe Kollwitz Sharpens Her Tools

In Sharpening the Scythe, one of Käthe Kollwitz’s most powerful prints, an older peasant woman grips the blade of her farming tool, preparing it not for cutting crops, but to take part in a revolt. In this short animated video, watch how Kollwitz arrived at this potent image using her confidence as a draftsman and printmaker.

Kollwitz develops and abandons entire compositions as she revises the work, deepening her focus on the woman and intensifying her emotion and strength. As Kollwitz works, we sense her resistance to tropes (a male figure helping the woman, for example) and her painstaking search for the clearest possible message.

See the different editions of this print in person at MoMA in Käthe Kollwitz, March 31–July 20, 2024.