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Do you know this woman?
All artists
No. 16The 1900s
Self-portrait of a woman, bare-shouldered, wearing an amber necklace and holding small flowers, against a background of green leaves.Early Expressionism

Paula Modersohn-Becker

1876 – 1907 · Germany

Bold, flat, frank — modern painting before it was cool.

Self-Portrait with Amber Necklace, 1906. Paula Modersohn-Becker. Public domain · Source: Wikimedia Commons

Painting

Paula Modersohn-Becker

1876 – 1907 · Germany

She worked in the artists' village of Worpswede and travelled often to Paris, absorbing Gauguin and Cézanne. In barely a decade she made around 750 paintings.

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Fact file

Born
1876
Died
1907
Country
Germany
Era
The 1900s
Style
Early Expressionism
Disciplines
Painting
Key work
Self-Portrait with Amber Necklace (1906)
Medium
Oil on canvas

Curiosity!

Documented

She sold only a few paintings during her lifetime.

What we know (and what we don’t)

  • It is believed

    She is widely credited with painting the first known nude self-portraits by a woman artist.

  • Documented

    She died at 31, shortly after giving birth to her daughter.

Where to see her

On view right now

Museums that own her work

Owning isn’t always showing: works rotate, go into storage or travel on loan — check before you go.

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Exhibition list last checked 25 Oct 2026.