In 2025/26, four museums in Worpswede will honor the most famous artist ever to emerge from the artists’ village: Paula Modersohn-Becker. She was born on February 8, 1876, in Dresden and died on November 20, 1907, in Worpswede at the young age of just 31, following an embolism.
During her lifetime, she was scarcely recognized as an independent artist. Largely misunderstood and overlooked by her male artist colleagues in Worpswede, Paula Modersohn-Becker was compelled to forge her own identity as a painter outside 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, in their own ways, sought to navigate the restrictive social conditions of the era.
When Paula Becker arrived in Worpswede at the age of 22, she encountered some of these women and formed close friendships with them — among them Clara Westhoff, Ottilie Reylaender, and Martha Vogeler. Like many women artists around 1900, she was repeatedly drawn to Paris, where she received crucial inspiration for her artistic development.
In just ten years, Paula Becker — who later became Paula Modersohn-Becker through marriage — created a body of work that remains unparalleled. In this short span, she evolved from a little-regarded “painting student” into a groundbreaking pioneer of modern art and a forerunner of female self-determination. Through both her art and the straightforward, authentic way she lived her life, she set lasting examples that continue to resonate to this day. Today, Paula Modersohn-Becker is celebrated nationally and internationally. In 2024, her work will be showcased in solo exhibitions in New York and Chicago.
The four museums in Worpswede will present the young painter where it all began: in the artists’ village of Worpswede and among her companions. What united these women was their determination to fight for a free life as artists. Contemporary works by artists such as German-Iranian Anahita Razmi create a bridge to the present, posing questions about the situation of women today.
To fully immerse yourself in the art and life of Paula Modersohn-Becker, it is highly recommended to book a guided tour of the exhibition. This combines visits to two museums with a walk through key locations in Worpswede that were important to Paula Modersohn-Becker. The group exhibition will be complemented by additional thematic displays and an extensive supporting program in Worpswede and Bremen.
Curator
Dr. Stefan Borchardt
Artists
Paula Modersohn-Becker
Marie Bock
Maria Caspar-Filser
Elisabeth von Eicken
Anna Gerresheim
Dora Koch-Stetter
Käthe Kollwitz
Käte Lassen
Sabine Lepsius
Clara Rilke-Westhoff
Mathilde Vollmöller-Purrmann
Julie Wolfthorn
Annemirl Bauer
Katerina Belkina
Anke Feuchtenberger
Ellen Korth
Gosia Machon
Wiebke Mertens
Cornelia Schleime
Ngozi Schommers
Anahita Razmi
Venue exhibiting the works of Katerina Belkina
Große Kunstschau Worpswede
Lindenallee 5
27726 Worpswede
Germany
The exhibition spans four museums: Barkenhoff, Große Kunstschau, Haus im Schluh, and Worpsweder Kunsthalle. The curators are Beate C. Arnold and Dr. Kathrin Kleibl for Barkenhoff, Dr. Stefan Borchardt for Große Kunstschau, Berit Müller for Haus im Schluh, and Cornelia Hagenah for Worpsweder Kunsthalle.
