Who painted Gretchen Murdering Her Child?

Gretchen Murdering Her Child was painted by Emanuel Leutze in 1852.

Where can I see Gretchen Murdering Her Child?

Gretchen Murdering Her Child is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Gretchen Murdering Her Child?

Gretchen Murdering Her Child is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Gretchen Murdering Her Child

Emanuel Leutze , 1852

Gretchen Murdering Her Child is an ink drawing by the Impressionist artist Emanuel Leutze. It dates from 1852 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s 1852 drawing, executed with pen and brown ink on wove paper, captures a moment from Goethe’s drama *Faust*.

About this work

Overview

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s 1852 drawing, executed with pen and brown ink on wove paper, captures a moment from Goethe’s drama *Faust*. The composition shows a woman standing in water, cradling a lifeless child, both dressed in flowing gowns. The scene is rendered in muted tones, emphasizing a somber, tragic atmosphere.

Subject & Meaning

The work illustrates the episode in which Gretchen, driven to despair by the events of *Faust*, harms her infant. Leutze’s portrayal focuses on the emotional weight of maternal anguish, using the watery setting and the figures’ downcast expressions to convey loss and moral collapse.

Technique & Style

Leutze employs fine pen work and extensive cross‑hatching to model form and suggest texture, especially in the garments and the surrounding foliage. The restrained brown ink palette and careful line work align the drawing with mid‑nineteenth‑century Realist tendencies toward detailed, observational rendering.

History & Provenance

Although Leutze is chiefly remembered for large historical canvases such as *Washington Crossing the Delaware*, this intimate drawing reflects his early engagement with literary subjects. Created in 1852, the piece remains part of the artist’s lesser‑known oeuvre, documented in catalogues of his drawings and exhibited in occasional retrospectives of his work.