26/08/16
Paula Modersohn-Becker: An
Intensely Artistic Eye
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de
Paris
8 April – 21 August 2016
Heralded as the first female artist
to paint a fully nude self-portrait, one might wonder why Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907) is not more of a household name. Her short but highly fertile
career – she produced more than 700 paintings in seven years (1900-07), working
seven days a week, “with a passion that excludes everything else” – took place
at a pivotal point in art history, and her trajectory from strict en plein air
realism to a stylised, simplified manner, influenced and directed by her
numerous stays in Paris, captures aspects of many of the movements of the time,
while repeating personal themes and motifs to create a recognisable and
cohesive oeuvre very much her own. A strong-minded character, Modersohn-Becker
admired Auguste Rodin for his “disregard for conventions” and sought to follow
suit. The low-angled compositions of many of her self-portraits allow her chin
to be raised, conveying an attitude of defiance and air of pride, stating: “This
is me.”
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