Still-Life with Clay Jug, Peonies, and Oranges

In 1897, Paula Modersohn-Becker wrote "I know that I shall not live very long. But I wonder, is that sad? Is a celebration more beautiful because it lasts longer? And my life is a celebration, a short, intense celebration."

Modersohn-Becker holds a central place in the history of German Expressionism. Though her career was tragically brief—cut short at just 31 by a postpartum embolism—the artist left behind an extraordinary oeuvre: more than 700 paintings and around 1,400 drawings. She is celebrated especially for her groundbreaking self-portraits, including the first nude self-portraits ever made by a woman. Many of these works explore her pregnancy, making her one of the first Western female artist to depict this subject.

In 1903 and 1905, she traveled to Paris, where she encountered artists like Édouard Vuillard, Maurice Denis, and Auguste Rodin. There, she put herself in a wide range of influences—from Egyptian mummy portraits and Gothic sculpture to the works of Edvard Munch, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh. Her drive to capture the essence of her subjects, rather than linger on surface details, increasingly set her apart from the other artists of the epoch, including her husband, Otto. In 1906, determined to "create something that is me," she left her husband and moved to Paris. A year later, she came back to Germany and died, a couple of days after giving birth to her daughter, Mathilde. 

P.S. Want to keep her work close throughout the year? Another of her paintings is featured in our DailyArt Weekly Calendar—a beautiful way to stay inspired week by week.

P.P.S. Paula Modersohn-Becker had a truly unique style. Discover the pioneering art of this amazing painter!