Paula Modersohn-Becker and Her Companions
The Indivisible Sky
Special Exhibition for the 150th Birthday of the Artist
June 29, 2025 to Jan 18, 2026
In four museums, Worpswede will honor, in 2025/26, the most famous artist to emerge from the artists' colony: Paula Modersohn-Becker. She was born on February 8, 1876, in Dresden and died on November 20, 1907, at the age of just 31 in Worpswede from an embolism.
During her lifetime, she was hardly recognized as an independent artist. Largely unappreciated by her male artist colleagues in Worpswede, Paula Modersohn-Becker was forced to carve out her own path as a painter beyond the established art world. Her struggle for an autonomous existence as an artist was an experience she shared with many other talented women of her time, all of whom had to find their own ways of dealing with the societal circumstances of the era.
When Paula Becker arrived in Worpswede at the age of 22, she encountered several of these women and formed friendships with them — including Clara Westhoff, Ottilie Reylaender, and Martha Vogeler. Like so many women artists around 1900, she was repeatedly drawn to Paris, where she gained crucial inspiration for her artistic development.
Paula Becker and Clara Westhoff around 1900 in Paula Beckers’ Atelier in Worpswede
In just ten years, Paula Becker, later Modersohn-Becker, created an unparalleled body of work. During this time, she transformed from a little-noticed “art student” into a trailblazing pioneer of modernism and a forerunner of female self-determination. Through her art and her straightforward approach to life, she set an example that continues to resonate today. Paula Modersohn-Becker is now celebrated both in Germany and abroad. In 2024, she will be featured in solo exhibitions in New York and Chicago.
The four Worpswede museums showcase the young painter where it all began: in the artists’ village of Worpswede and among her companions. What united them was their determination to fight for a free life as artists. Works by contemporary female artists, including the German-Iranian artist Anahita Razmi, create a connection to the present and explore the situation of women today.
To fully immerse yourself in the art and life of Paula Modersohn-Becker, booking a guided exhibition tour is recommended. This experience combines visits to two museums with a walk through the artist village, exploring locations that were significant to Paula Modersohn-Becker. The collaborative exhibition is complemented by additional thematic presentations and an extensive accompanying program in Worpswede and Bremen.
Grosse Kunstschau
Jun 29, 2025 - Jan 18, 2026
Creating the Future
Contemporaries Then and Now
Paula Modersohn-Becker shared the goal of becoming an artist with many young women of her time. Life and work in an artists’ colony provided them with space for artistic development. Many complemented their training with study stays in Paris, where they encountered the avant-garde. The exhibition traces the lives of women artists around 1900, exploring the close interconnections between their artistic productivity and their societal roles as women, wives, and mothers.
Contemporary women artists today reflect on the ongoing relevance of these themes. Among them is Anahita Razmi, a scholarship holder of the Worpswede Museums Association and Artists' Houses, who draws connections to the struggle for women's self-determination in Iran.
Worpsweder Kunsthalle
Jun 29, 2025 - Jan 18, 2026
Free and Independent
Ottilie Reylaender
Ottilie Reylaender arrived in Worpswede in 1898 as an art student. There, she met Paula Becker and was fascinated by her development. Driven by a longing for distant places, her journey took her from Rome to Paris and eventually to Mexico, where she spent 17 years before returning to Berlin in 1927.
The exhibition focuses on central themes and motifs in Ottilie Reylaender's work, such as self-portraits and double portraits, landscapes, and mother-child depictions, placing them in dialogue with works by Paula Modersohn-Becker. These comparisons highlight both parallels and artistic progression. Reylaender emerges as an artist of her time who dared to live a free life beyond societal conventions.
Barkenhoff
Jun 29, 2025 - Jan 18, 2026
Kindred Spirits
Paula Becker and Clara Westhoff
Paula Becker and Clara Westhoff met in 1898 as young art students in the artists’ colony of Worpswede. This marked the beginning of a friendship characterized by highs and lows. Both young women were in search of artistic self-determination and their own forms of expression — Paula Becker in painting and Clara Westhoff in sculpture.
The exhibition at the Barkenhoff presents the artistic and personal development of these two artists through selected works and key moments in their lives. At its core are sculptures, paintings, and drawings, complemented by historical photographs, original documents, and quotes from the artists.
Haus im Schluh
Jun 29, 2025 - Jan 18, 2026
Liberated Muse
Martha Vogeler
Martha Vogeler broke free from her marriage to the artist Heinrich Vogeler and, from 1911, began a new relationship with the writer Ludwig Bäumer. This decision marked the first step toward her independence. In 1920, she established her own home and workspace for herself and her daughters: the Haus im Schluh. Through her own art, works by young painters, weaving, and renting guest rooms, she built the foundation for a financially independent life.
The Haus im Schluh showcases Martha Vogeler’s artistic work alongside the creations of her husband and highlights her social and cultural contributions. Photographs, written records, and audio documents provide a vivid portrayal of her influence in Worpswede.
Paula Modersohn-Becker
The Pathmaker
»I feel that the time will soon come when I no longer have to feel ashamed and stay silent, but can be proud to be a painter.«
Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) was one of the most significant artists of modernism and a key figure in the Worpswede artists’ colony. As one of the first women to deeply engage with self-representation and the role of women in art, she created approximately 750 paintings and 2,000 drawings during her short life.