ticketsMember | Make a donation

Killed in Action (Gefallen)

Publisher Emil Richter, Dresden German
1920
Not on view
Kollwitz’s younger son Peter volunteered for combat when the war began and died in October 1914 while fighting in Belgium. Killed in Action expresses the intense pain of those who lost loved ones in the war. The mother’s whole body reveals her devastation, while her children’s faces display a range of emotions—shock, horror, fear—as they rush to her side, She is too consumed with pain to acknowledge them. Kollwitz used lithography, a technique in which she noted "only the essentials count." This work has a raw, unfinished quality—lines appear quickly drawn and the son’s lower body is absent—and identifying details are eliminated, making Killed in Action a universal and timeless image of grief.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Killed in Action (Gefallen)
  • Artist: Käthe Kollwitz (German, Kaliningrad (Königsberg) 1867–1945 Moritzburg)
  • Publisher: Emil Richter, Dresden
  • Date: 1920
  • Medium: Lithograph
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 25 1/4 x 21 in. (64.1 x 53.4 cm)
    Image: 16 9/16 × 13 3/8 in. (42 × 34 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1928
  • Object Number: 28.68.2
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
The End
Käthe Kollwitz
1898
Mothers, Give from your Abundance (Mütter gebt von eurem Überfluss), Käthe Kollwitz German, Lithograph
Mothers, Give from your Abundance (Mütter gebt von eurem Überfluss)
Käthe Kollwitz
1926
Council, Käthe Kollwitz German, Etching; fifth state of seven
Council
Käthe Kollwitz
1895
Woman with Bent Head (Gesenkter Frauenkopf)
Käthe Kollwitz
1905
Downtrod Woman (Zertretene from Zeitschrift für Bildende Kunst), Käthe Kollwitz German, Etching
Downtrod Woman (Zertretene from Zeitschrift für Bildende Kunst)
Käthe Kollwitz
1900

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.