Paula Modersohn-Becker

Paula Modersohn-Becker was born on Februrary 8, 1876 in Dresden-Friedrichstadt and died on November 20, 1907 in Worpswede. She's one of the most famous artists from the Expressionist art movement. In few years, she created about 750 paintings and 1,000 drawings.
Paula Modersohn-Becke lived in Dresden, Berlin, near London, Paris and then Worpswede, near Bremen.

On the 25th of May 1901, she married the painter Otto Modersohn, a famous artist. They had a passionate relationship that ended in 1906.

In Worpswede, she created most of her art work.

Biography of Paula Modersohn-Becker

Paula Modersohn-Becker was born on February 8, 1876, in Dresden-Friedrichstadt and is considered one of the most significant figures of early Expressionism. Even at a young age, she displayed remarkable artistic talent and received her initial training at the art school of the Association of Women Artists in Berlin. However, it was her time in the artist colony of Worpswede near Bremen that profoundly influenced her. Inspired by the rural surroundings and the simple life of the people, she developed an individual visual language characterized by bold colors and simplified forms.

After her initial study trips to Paris, Modersohn-Becker gained access to the avant-garde of the European art scene. Particularly influenced by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin, she began to move away from traditional naturalism and develop her own expressionist style. Her works, especially portraits and still lifes, are distinguished by intense coloration and a reduced formal language. In her paintings, she combined the simplicity and directness of the Worpswede motifs with the artistic achievements of the French modernists.

On May 25, 1901, she married the painter Otto Modersohn, who already held a recognized artistic position at the time. However, the marriage was marked by tensions, as Paula Modersohn-Becker sought greater independence and artistic self-realization. In September 1906, she requested consent for a divorce but retracted it shortly thereafter. Despite the challenges in her relationship, she remained true to her art and created not the most, but certainly her most significant works in Worpswede.

During her brief career, she produced around 750 paintings and over 1,000 drawings—an astonishing oeuvre for her short life. Her paintings, often portraits of women and children, reflect a profound humanity and sensitivity. Modersohn-Becker was one of the first female artists to confidently position herself as a woman painter and to engage with the depiction of the female body beyond classical ideals of beauty. Her "Self-Portrait on the 6th Wedding Anniversary" from 1906 is particularly regarded as one of the first self-portraits of a nude woman by a female artist and marks a milestone in art history.

Paula Modersohn-Becker passed away on November 20, 1907, in Worpswede at the age of just 31 due to an embolism, shortly after the birth of her daughter. Her work remained in the shadow of male Expressionists for a long time, but today she is considered a central figure of modern art. Her paintings are displayed in major museums worldwide and are celebrated for their groundbreaking, powerful visual language. Her courage to break artistic conventions makes her one of the most inspiring artists of the 20th century.

All images by Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Modersohn-Becker, Bouquet of Wildflowers

Modersohn-Becker, Bouquet ... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Boy with cat from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Girl portrait. from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Girl head in front of a wi... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Still Life with Terracotta Jug, Peonies and Oranges

Still Life with Terracotta... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Road with birch tree from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Mother and child reclining figure's acts

Mother and child reclining... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Elsbeth mit Hühnern unter ... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Selfportrait in 1905 from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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The painter with Kamelienz... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Quiet life with oranges and stoneware dog.

Quiet life with oranges an... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Still Life from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Self-portrait. Half act with amber chain

Self-portrait. Half act wi... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Children with lanterns from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Birch Trunks from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Moon above Fields from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Self-portrait with hand on... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Moon Landscape from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Child with cat from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Selbstbildnis am 6. Hochze... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Old poorhouse woman from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Girl in front of landscape... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Portrait Clara Rilke of We... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Path Along Birch Trees from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Kinder mit Gänsen from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Look of the Weyerberg from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Girl w.Flowers from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Still-life in yellow from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Selbstbildnis mit rotem Blütenkranz und Kette

Selbstbildnis mit rotem Bl... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Schlafendes Kind from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Girl and child from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Rotes Haus mit Birke from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Fried Egg Still Life from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Worpsweder Landschaft mit ... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Stillleben mit Fisch from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Monks Hood from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Boy in the snow from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Self-portrait with hat and... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Stillleben mit blauem, weißgetüpfeltem Krug (II)

Stillleben mit blauem, wei... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Stillleben mit gelbem Krug from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Halbakt eines Mädchens mit schwarzem Hut

Halbakt eines Mädchens mit... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Stillleben mit Blattpflanze und Eierbecher

Stillleben mit Blattpflanz... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Girl with rabbit from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Stilleben mit Milchsatte from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Ruhende Mutter mit Kind from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Stillleben mit weißer Lamp... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Selbstbildnis (vor Fenster... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Säugling an der Brust from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Halbakt einer Italienerin ... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Liegender Mann unter blühe... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Stillleben mit Mattglasbecher, Äpfeln und Kiefernzweig

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Spring Landscape from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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self-portr. 1906 from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Bäuerin an einer Birke from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Kind mit Puppe am Birkenst... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Mädchen mit Puppe from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Brustbild eines Mädchens mit braunem Kleid und schwarzem Hut

Brustbild eines Mädchens m... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Märchen von der verlorenen... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Still Life with Melon , undated painting

Still Life with Melon , un... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Frau mit Kindern in der To... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Hockendes Mädchen mit Stor... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Selbstbildnis mit rotem Bl... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Aster Still Life from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Sugar Bowl Still Life from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Oranges... from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Self-portrait 1903 from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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Birch Trunks from Paula Modersohn-Becker

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