Paula Modersohn-Becker
Born – Dresden, Germany 1876
Died – Worpswede, Germany 1907
Paula Becker learnt to draw and paint while being encouraged by relatives and friends. From 1893-1895 she attended the Association of Berlin Women Artists. In 1898, she moved to an established artist’s colony in Worpswede and became a friend of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Her early work concentrated on landscapes and earthy representations of peasant life. In Paris in 1900, she became acquainted with the work of Cézanne, Gauguin, van Gogh and Rodin. During the following year she married widower Otto Modersohn, eleven years her seiner. In her later, mainly portrait, work she was concerned to convey feeling; there is a quieter, introspective quality to her painting that separates it from the harsh colour and violent distortions of other Expressionists. Self Portrait with Blue Irises, with its simplified forms and restrained use of colour, is a striking image of self-possession and vulnerability. It becomes all the more poignant having the knowledge of Modersohn-Becker’s tragic personal history. In 1906, she escaped from her oppressive marriage and returned to Paris; in 1907 she gave birth to her daughter Mathilde and died after childbirth of an embolism.
Masterpieces:
- Old Peasant Woman Praying
- Kneeling Girl in front of a Blue Curtain
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About paula modersohn becker
Paula Modersohn-Becker
Averil King
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Paula Modersohn Becker: Germany's Pioneer Modernist
Jane Kallir
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Paula Modersohn-Becker (German Edition)
Gustav Pauli
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