Paula Modersohn-Becker
German artist
Died when: 31 years 286 days (381 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
Paula Modersohn-Becker (8 February 1876 – 20 November 1907) was a German Expressionist painter of the late 19th and early 20th century.Her work is noted for its intensity and its blunt, unapologetic humanity, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portraits.
She is considered one of the most important representatives of early expressionism, producing more than 700 paintings and over 1000 drawings during her active painting life.
She is recognized both as the first known woman painter to paint nude self-portraits, and the first woman to have a museum devoted exclusively to her art (the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, founded 1927).
Additionally, she is considered to be the first woman artist to depict herself both pregnant and nude and pregnant.Her career was cut short when she died from postpartum embolism at the age of 31.
