PAULA MODERSOHN-BECKER

Paula Modersohn-Becker

1876 Dresden-Friedrichstadt – 1907 Worpswede

Paula Modersohn-Becker is one of the most important early German Expressionists. At the age of 12 her family moved from Dresden to Bremen. In 1896 her parents finally allowed her to pursue an art education at the Verein der Berlin Künstlerinnen (Berlin Society of Female Artists) as the art academy still refused entry to women at that time.

In 1898 she moved to the artist colony Worpswede and married the painter Otto Modersohn in 1901. In 1907 she died of an embolism shortly after the birth of her much longed for daughter. Before that time she travelled frequently to Paris and made contact with the avantegarde. She was one of the first to recognize the importance of Paul Cézanne and Paul Gauguin’s art. Throughout the 20th century her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions. In 1927 the Paula Modersohn-Becker-Museum in Bremen was founded.

Selected works

Reinhard Pods, Ohne Titel (will), 1981, Oil on canvas, 200 x 220.3 cm

Paula Modersohn-Becker
Landschaft mit Birkenstamm

um 1901
oil on cardboard

68.3 x 38.2 cm