The Käthe Kollwitz Museum sits on the fourth floor of the Neumarkt shopping gallery in central Cologne. It holds an extensive collection of work by the German artist, including prints, drawings, paintings and sculptures. The displays group works by theme and weave in details of Kollwitz’s life, bringing her depictions of poverty, war and ordinary people into focus. Look for print series such as The Weavers, The Peasants’ Revolt and War. The subject matter is often intense, but the collection gives a close view of her artistic development.
A collection focused on Kollwitz
The museum brings together a broad range of work by Käthe Kollwitz, who lived from 1867 to 1945. Its collection includes woodcuts, paintings, etchings, lithographs, drawings and sculptures. Prints and works on paper make up much of what you encounter, with the different techniques revealing how Kollwitz developed her images.
Her subjects were people facing hardship: workers, peasants and families affected by war. The works address poverty and political upheaval as well as grief. In the print series The Weavers, The Peasants’ Revolt and War, social conditions and human responses take centre stage. Biographical notes placed among the works help connect those subjects with the artist’s own life.
The personal context of War
Kollwitz lost her son Peter during the First World War. Her grief is part of the context for the War series, which depicts the human cost of conflict. The works place individual faces and emotions within larger themes of loss and suffering, rather than treating war as an abstract event.
The museum also traces changes in Kollwitz’s work over time. Seeing the pieces in thematic groups, with biographical information nearby, helps make that development easier to follow than viewing isolated works. Her images of ordinary people carry both anger and hope for better conditions, alongside the pain of lives shaped by poverty and conflict.
Displays beyond the permanent collection
Alongside its Kollwitz holdings, the museum presents changing exhibitions of other modern artists. These shows add a different focus to the visit, while keeping the museum’s setting relatively intimate compared with a large gallery.
The museum is inside the Neumarkt shopping gallery, so the entrance can be easy to miss from the street. The route is through the passage between the Sparkasse bank and a café, followed by a lift to the fourth floor. English translations are limited in some parts of the permanent display; translation software can help with labels that are not available in English.
Perguntas frequentes
Where is the entrance to the Käthe Kollwitz Museum?
Enter the passage between the Sparkasse bank and a café at Neumarkt. Take the lift inside the shopping gallery to the fourth floor.
Is the Käthe Kollwitz Museum closed on any day?
Yes. It is closed on Mondays.
Are the displays available in English?
English translations are limited in some areas of the permanent collection. A translation app can help with labels that are not translated.
What can you see at the museum?
The collection includes Kollwitz’s prints, drawings, paintings, etchings, lithographs and sculptures. There are also changing exhibitions of other modern artists.
