Outside the small town of Vladslo, Belgium, is a World War I German military cemetery. I visited this cemetery several months ago on a Sunday afternoon on my way from Ieper to Brugges. In the middle of Flanders, an area that suffered horrific losses between 1914 and 1918, I made a detour because I wanted to see
The Parents, a pair of statues that German artist Kathe Kollwitz sculpted specifically for this cemetery, where the bodies of hundreds of German soldiers--including that of her son Peter--lay buried, their graves marked only by simple plaques bearing lists of names and dates.
It took Kollwitz about eighteen years to sculpt something she felt was appropriate for such a space, this humble cemetery in the middle of enemy territory. What she finally decided upon was a pair of statues, two parents, grieving over their dead sons.
I believe this is the most poignant memorial to the tragedy of war I have ever seen. And, in a melancholy way, it inspires me.
I believe this is the most poignant memorial to the tragedy of war I have ever seen. And, in a melancholy way, it inspires me.
2 comments:
wow. my heart just jumped. these are so beautiful, melancholy as they are--they are honest. and maybe that's what this is all about.
the first time i saw kollwitz's art was in a slide show in my art history 202 class. i almost cried, and had to hide my eyes carefully behind my hands. her images are so beautiful, so forcefully powerful - and i think you're right: they really do offer such an incredibly poignant memorial to the tragedy of war. the sadness they depict are, in a way, their own tragedy.
Post a Comment