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Rosa Luxemburg
Anton Raderscheidt
Woodcut 1919

Raderscheidt's print of the socialist leader, Rosa Luxemburg, was one of seven woodcuts comprising a portfolio named Lebendige (The Living). The artist belonged to Gesellschaft der Kunste (Arts Company), a group of leading artists from the city of Cologne that sought "the transformation of the teaching of art, and the establishment of a living contact between art and the people."

Raderscheidt's print was executed in typical avant garde Expressionist fashion - rough and exaggerated. It was an homage to Luxemburg, who had been viciously murdered by rightist thugs.

Luxemburg was highly regarded by many German workers, artists, and intellectuals, and her assassination foretold of the bloodbath that was to totally engulf the country in years to come. Other Expressionist artists also created works to honor the martyred Luxemburg, most notably Conrad Felixmüller and Käthe Kollwitz.
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