Exhibition

Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me

Jun 6 — Sep 9, 2024

First ever museum retrospective in the United States devoted to this major figure in the history of German Expressionism

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Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Self-Portrait with Two Flowers in Her Raised Left Hand, 1907
Oil on canvas
Jointly owned by The Museum of Modern Art, Gift of Debra and Leon Black, and Neue Galerie New York, Gift of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder
Conservation was made possible by the Bank of America Art Conservation Project

Paula Modersohn-Becker Self-Portrait with Two Flowers in Her Raised Left Hand, 1907 Oil on canvas

I don’t know how to sign my name. I am not Modersohn and I am not Paula Becker anymore, I am Me, and hope to become that more and more.

Paula Modersohn-Becker, 1906

Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) is a major figure in the history of German Expressionism, yet despite her importance to art history, she has never before been the subject of a museum retrospective in the United States. While her paintings and drawings have appeared in group shows at museums and galleries—there is even a Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum in her hometown of Bremen—“Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me,” organized by Neue Galerie New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, marks the first full-scale presentation devoted to the artist in this country.

In the course of her brief career, which was cut short at the young age of 31 because of a postpartum embolism, Modersohn-Becker produced more than 700 paintings and around 1,400 drawings. She is acclaimed for the many self-portraits she created, including the first nude self-portraits known to have been made by a woman. Many of these works focused on her pregnancy, another first among Western women artists. The artist initially gained renown through her letters and diaries, including correspondence with her close friend, the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. In 1906 Modersohn-Becker wrote the following to Rilke: “And now I don’t know how to sign my name. I am not Modersohn and I am not Paula Becker anymore, I am Me, and hope to become that more and more.” ("Und nun weiss ich gar nicht, wie ich mich unterschreiben soll. Ich bin nicht Modersohn und ich bin auch nicht mehr Paula Becker, Ich bin Ich, und hoffe es immer mehr zu werden.") This landmark statement of self-determination—Ich bin Ich (I am Me)—provides the sub-title for this exhibition, and a window into the artist’s formidable sense of identity.

“Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me” is the first collaboration between Neue Galerie New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, to which the exhibition will travel following its debut at the Neue Galerie. This exhibition is curated by Jill Lloyd at Neue Galerie New York and by Jay A. Clarke at the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is designed by Peter de Kimpe, whose projects are noted for their bold colors and theatrical style, for Neue Galerie New York.

Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich Bin Ich / I Am Me | Neue Galerie New York

In this video, exhibition curator Jill Lloyd shares highlights of this landmark exhibition presented at Neue Galerie New York.

IN THE NEWS

“Glorious... dazzling... Modersohn-Becker achieved something extraordinary”
– The New York Times

“Revelatory retrospective of an artistic life cut short... foregrounds the brilliance of the German Expressionist”
– Financial Times

“A poignant homage to the German modernist painter’s boundless creativity, tragically extinguished by her death in 1907 at age 31.”
– The Wall Street Journal

LEARN MORE

Purchase the Exhibition Catalogue
This exhibition catalog considers the work of a pioneering artist who subverted conventions in her bold depictions of the nude, self-portraits, and still-lifes. An iconoclast in her own time, Modersohn-Becker is today considered an icon of modernity.

Download the Audio Guide
Hear curatorial insights on key works in the exhibition.

Selected Works

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Upper Body of a Woman Leaning toward the Left, Alongside a Small Sketch of the Same Motif, 1898
Charcoal on paper
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Sheep in the Birch Forest, 1903
Oil tempera on cardboard
Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College, Shreveport, Louisiana

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Girl Blowing a Flute in the Birch Forest, 1905
Oil tempera on canvas
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Standing and Kneeling Nude Girls in Front of Poppies II, 1906
Oil tempera on canvas
Lübecker Museen, Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus gestiftet aus der Sammlung Dr. Kurt Wünsche, Zwickau
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Portrait of Rainer Maria Rilke, 1906
Oil tempera on cardboard mounted on wood
Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen, on loan from a Private Collection
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Self-Portrait with Blue Glass, ca. 1902
Oil tempera on cardboard
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, acquired in 1968, formerly Hugo Borst Collection
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Still-Life with Clay Jug, Peonies, and Oranges, May/June 1906
Oil tempera on cardboard
Kunsthandel Wolfgang Werner, Bremen/Berlin
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Kneeling Mother with Child at Her Breast, 1906
Oil tempera on canvas mounted on wood
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Nationalgalerie Berlin
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker Upper Body of a Woman Leaning toward the Left, Alongside a Small Sketch of the Same Motif, 1898 Charcoal on paper

Paula Modersohn-Becker Sheep in the Birch Forest, 1903 Oil tempera on cardboard

Paula Modersohn-Becker Girl Blowing a Flute in the Birch Forest, 1905 Oil tempera on canvas

Paula Modersohn-Becker Standing and Kneeling Nude Girls in Front of Poppies II, 1906 Oil tempera on canvas

Paula Modersohn-Becker Portrait of Rainer Maria Rilke, 1906 Oil tempera on cardboard mounted on wood

Paula Modersohn-Becker Self-Portrait with Blue Glass, ca. 1902 Oil tempera on cardboard

Paula Modersohn-Becker Still-Life with Clay Jug, Peonies, and Oranges, May/June 1906 Oil tempera on cardboard

Paula Modersohn-Becker Kneeling Mother with Child at Her Breast, 1906 Oil tempera on canvas mounted on wood

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Upper Body of a Woman Leaning toward the Left, Alongside a Small Sketch of the Same Motif, 1898
Charcoal on paper
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Sheep in the Birch Forest, 1903
Oil tempera on cardboard
Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College, Shreveport, Louisiana

Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
Girl Blowing a Flute in the Birch Forest, 1905
Oil tempera on canvas
© Paula-Modersohn-Becker-Stiftung, Bremen

Installation Views

Installation views of “Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me” at Neue Galerie New York. Photography by Annie Schlechter, courtesy Neue Galerie New York.

Installation views of “Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me” at Neue Galerie New York. Photos: Annie Schlechter

Installation views of “Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me” at Neue Galerie New York. Photography by Annie Schlechter, courtesy Neue Galerie New York.

Installation views of “Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me” at Neue Galerie New York. Photos: Annie Schlechter

Installation views of “Paula Modersohn-Becker: Ich bin Ich / I Am Me” at Neue Galerie New York. Photography by Annie Schlechter, courtesy Neue Galerie New York.

This exhibition is curated by Jill Lloyd at Neue Galerie New York and by Jay A. Clarke at the Art Institute of Chicago.