Käthe Kollwitz Museum Köln, Art museum in Altstadt-Nord, Cologne, Germany.
The Käthe Kollwitz Museum Cologne is an art museum in the Altstadt-Nord district that holds the world's largest collection of works by this German artist, including prints, drawings, posters, and sculptures. It is located inside the Neumarkt Passage building and displays works from all periods of Kollwitz's career.
The museum was founded in 1985 by Cologne collector Hans Pels-Leusden, who had spent decades systematically gathering works by Kollwitz. It was the first museum in the world dedicated exclusively to her work.
Käthe Kollwitz was one of the few women of her era to gain recognition in the Berlin art world of the early 20th century, and her works show a strikingly direct way of expression. Visitors can see in the prints and drawings a language that speaks of grief and solidarity without words.
The museum sits right on Neumarkt, one of Cologne's most central squares, and is easy to reach on foot or by metro. Plan one to two hours to walk through the collection without rushing.
Kollwitz lost her son Peter in World War I and later her grandson, also named Peter, in World War II. The sculpture she created for the military cemetery in Belgium where her son is buried, called "Grieving Parents", is one of the most moving works in the collection.
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