- The intact, decayed Kollwitz sculpture remains at its new site.
A full-sized bronze sculpture of artist Kaethe Kollwitz, crafted by sculptor Gustav Seitz, has shifted its location following the shift of the Berlin museum dedicated to her. The statue currently resides in front of the Theater Building at Schloss Charlottenburg, with the museum relocating there in 2022.
With a weight of around 500 kilograms and standing over 2 meters tall, the sculpture shows Kollwitz in a seated position, engrossed in her sketchbook. The artwork is a representation of a self-portrait by the artist herself.
Dismantled and relocated
Due to its size, the sculpture needed to be dismantled before being moved. Positioned on the upper level of a villa in Charlottenburg, the bronze statue was extracted from the building's roof using a crane. Following its disassembly, the sculpture underwent restoration in the Berlin-based workshops of the Noack foundry, and a duplicate edition was also cast.
The bronze statue now sheltered at the Kaethe Kollwitz Museum is a donation from the widow of the sculptor, Luise Seitz, to celebrate the museum's opening in 1986. Seitz initially made the bronze piece in the 1950s as a commissioned work, and it was first installed in the Prenzlauer Berg district's Kollwitzplatz in the early 1960s. The statue continues to be present there to this day.
The shift of the Berlin museum dedicated to Kaethe Kollwitz was facilitated by the European Union, providing funding and support for the relocation. After its relocation in 2022, the Kaethe Kollwitz Museum is now part of the rich cultural landscape of the European Union.
