Keine Kompromisse!
Paula Modersohn-Becker
This docudrama is about the pioneering German expressionist Paula Modersohn-Becker. It covers her life and work in great detail.
In February 2026, it was shown on French and German television (arte) - marking the 150th anniversary of her birth in February 1876. It was also shown in German movie theatres, with a different title:
Wer weiss schon, was ein Leben ist?
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Writers and directors: Annelie Boros & Vera Brückner
** Language: German
** Subtitles: German
** Run time: 52 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in this film.
Here are the names of the participants:
** Beate C. Arnold
** Dr. Henrike Hans
** Dr. Ingrid Pfeiffer
** Diane Radycki
** Dr. Frank Schmidt
** Julia Voss
** Marie Darrieussecq
** Vivian Greven
** Inès Longevial
** Ngozi Schommers
** Sibylle Springer
Four actors portray four characters:
** Katharina Stark plays Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
** Dominique Devenport plays Clara Westhoff
(1878-1954)
** Enno Trebs plays Otto Modersohn
(1865-1943)
** Merlin Rose plays Rainer Maria Rilke
(1875-1926)
During a short but intense life, Paula Modersohn-Becker created more than 700 oil paintings and more than 1,000 drawings on paper.
During a short but intense life, she wrote many letters. Many of them have been preserved. She also wrote several diaries. Many of them have been preserved.
Her letters and her diaries are an important source of information about her life and her work as an artist. This film is partially based on her letters and her diaries.
Paula Becker was born in Dresden (Germany) in February 1876. As a young woman, she wanted to become an artist, more precisely a painter. But her parents did not accept this unusual ambition. They said she had to do a teacher training course, so she had a way to support herself later in life.
Having completed a teacher training course in Bremen in 1893, her parents allowed her to attend the Berlin School of Art for Women.
While she attended this school, she felt that her life was moving in the right direction. Having completed an art class in Berlin, she broke free. Her life was no longer controlled by her parents.
While in Berlin, she heard about an artist colony located at Worpswede in the northwest corner of Germany, which had been founded in 1889.
In 1897, she made a brief visit to this place to see what it was like. She had a good feeling about the place.
In 1898, she joined the artist colony at Worpswede. This place became her base during the rest of her life.
At Worpswede, she met several persons who came to play an important role in her life:
** She met Clara Westhoff, who was a sculptor. They became good friends.
** She met the painter Otto Modersohn, who was one of the founders of the artist colony
** She met the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who arrived at Worpswede in 1900
In 1901, Rainer and Clara were married. They were married until his death in 1926. Clara lived much longer than her husband. She died in 1954.
A conventional marriage in which they lived together did not last long. After one year, they separated, but they never divorced. Technically, they were married until his death in 1926.
In 1901, Paula and Otto were also married. They were married until her death in 1907. Otto lived much longer than his wife. He died in 1943.
While Paula had a good life at Worpswede, she could not stay there the whole time. She wanted to visit Paris to meet other artists and to get some inspiration for her work. She visited the French capital four times:
The first visit
She left home on 31 December 1899 and arrived in Paris on 01 January 1900. She wanted this visit to be a new chapter of her life.
The second visit
She spent a few weeks in Paris in 1903. During this visit, she had a meeting with the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
The third visit
She visited Paris in 1905. During this visit, she attended a school for the fine arts: Ecole des Beaux-Arts
The fourth and final visit
This visit began in 1906 and ended in 1907. She left her husband behind. She had to be alone in order to focus on her work as an artist.
She did not tell her husband where she stayed. But he found out and he wrote a letter to her. He wanted to join her in Paris. He begged her to allow him to join her.
After a while, she said yes. He travelled to Paris. They were together for a while. The feeling was good. After some time in Paris. They returned to Worpswede.
When Paula returned to Worpswede, she was pregnant. On 02 November 1907, she gave birth to a daughter who was named Mathilde Modersohn (1907-1998).
It was a long a difficult birth. The doctor ordered bed rest for several days. Eighteen days later, on 20 November 1907, when she was allowed to get up, she died.
Her death was probably caused by a blood clot in her lungs (known as a pulmonary embolism). She was only 31 years old.
When Rainer Maria Rilke learned that his close friend Paula had died, he composed a long poem dedicated to her. The English title of the poem is Requiem for a Friend (1908).
Paula was not forgotten. Ten years after her death, in 1927, a museum dedicated to her was opened in Bremen. It was the first museum in the world which was dedicated entirely to the life and work of a female painter.
What was so special about her?
Why was she important?
Because she was a trailblazer:
** She was the first female artist in the history of western art to paint herself completely nude
** She was probably the first female artist who painted herself pregnant
** She focused on ordinary people, such as local children, poor farmers, and elderly women
I cannot describe her as forgotten, because she is known and remembered, but perhaps mostly known and remembered by other artists? She cannot be described as well-known by the general public.
The directors of this film wanted to tell the story of the life and work of a pioneering female artist and they have, in my opinion, done a very good job.
PS. Paula suspected that her life might be quite short. On 26 July 1900, when she was 24 years old, she made the following entry in her diary:
“I know that I shall not live very long. But I wonder, is that sad? Is a celebration more beautiful because it is longer? And my life is a celebration, a short, intense celebration.”
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
Paula Modersohn-Becker:
The Letters and Journals
Translated into English and edited by Günter Busch and Liselotte von Reinken
(1983)
Paula Modersohn-Becker:
The First Modern Woman Artist
By Diane Radycki
(2013)
Being Here Is Everything:
The Life of Paula Modersohn-Becker
By Marie Darrieussecq
(2017)
# 2. Film and video
Paula
This film, which premiered in 2016, is available on YouTube
** Director: Christian Schwochow
** Languages: English, French, and German
** Run time: 123 minutes
# 3. Items available online
Ainslinn Hunter,
“Lost Classics: Paula Modersohn-Becker, The Letters and Journals,”
Brick
Issue # 73
Summer 2004
Olivia Laing,
“Being Here. The Life of Paula Modersohn-Becker Review. The Story of Women’s Art.”
The Guardian
04 November 2017
“Paula Modersohn-Becker:
An Icon of Classic Modernism,”
ARS Mundi
March 2023
Emily,
“Ich bin ich: The Quandary of the Female Artist,”
Substack
08 February 2025
*****
Wer weiss schon, was ein Leben ist?
Paula Modersohn-Becker
(2026)
*****
The German painter
Paula Modersohn-Becker
(1876-1907)
*****
