About the Artwork
Paula Modersohn-Becker made the human figure her primary subject. Attracted by the simplicity of rural life in the northern German village of Worpswede, she began a series of paintings of peasants from the area. She selected her models, including the subject of this painting, from a local poorhouse and returned to the same individuals over the years. In this portrait, Modersohn-Becker imbued her sitter with an unusual dignity and repose given her place in society. Early on, Modersohn-Becker described her stylistic development as a move toward a radical simplification of forms: “As far back as I can remember I have tried to put the simplicity of nature into the heads that I was painting or drawing.” In 1906–7, on the last of four trips to Paris, she deepened her knowledge of the French avant-garde, including paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Absorbing the innovations of these artists, Modersohn-Becker rendered this model in spare, monumental forms defined by expressive color, which anticipated a style that would soon be known as expressionism.
Old Peasant Woman
1907
Paula Modersohn-Becker
1876-1907
German
Unknown
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 29 3/4 × 22 3/4 inches (75.6 × 57.8 cm) Framed: 34 5/8 × 27 1/4 × 3 7/16 inches (87.9 × 69.2 × 8.7 cm)
Paintings
European Modern Art to 1970
Gift of Robert H. Tannahill
58.385
Copyright Not Evaluated
Markings
Inscribed, on verso: Dieses Bild ist ein Original von Paula Modersohn-Becker | Otto Modersohn
Provenance
1919-August 21, 1937, Kunsthalle Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany)
August 21, 1937, confiscated by the German Reich (Deutsches Reich)/The Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda), Berlin, Germany as “degenerate art"
June 3, 1939, consigned to (Buch- und Kunsthandlung Karl Buchholz, Berlin, Germany)
by 1939, transferred to (Curt Valentin, Buchholz Gallery, New York, New York, USA)
1939-1958, purchased by Robert H. Tannahill [1893-1969] (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, USA)
1958-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Stoermer, C.P. Becker-Modersohn. 1913, no. 71, (ill.).
Pauli, G. Paula Modersohn-Becker. 1919, no. 38 (pl. 12). [dated as 1906-1907]
Pauli, G. Fuher Durch die Galerie der Kunsthalle Zu Hamburg. 1924, p. 201 (ill.).
Pauli, G. Katalog der Neuren Meister. Hamburg, 1927, no. 1955.
Paula Modersohn-Becker. Exh. cat., Kestner-Gesellschaft. Hanover, 1934, no. 152.
Westheim, P. Histoire de l'Art Contemporain. Paris, 1935, p. 430 (pl. 558).
Art News (April 13, 1940): p. 15 (ill.).
Magazine of Art 33 (April 1940): p 233 (ill.).
Landmarks in Modern German Art. Exh. cat., Buchholz Gallery. New York, 1940, no. 16.
Cheney, S. The Story of Modern Art. New York, 1947, p. 401 (ill.).
Myers, B. Modern Art in the Making. New York, 1950, p. 334, no. 171 (ill.).
German Art of the 20th Century. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1957, no. 128.
Bulletin of the DIA 39, 1 (1959-1960): pp. 20-21 (ill.).
Oppler, E.C. "Paula Modersohn-Becker: Some Facts and Legends." Art Journal 35 (1976): p. 364.
Harris, A.S. and Linda Nochlin. Women Artists 1550-1950. Los Angeles, 1976, p. 277, no. 117 (ill.).
Radycki, J.D. The Letters and Journals of Paula Modersohn-Becker. Metuchen, New Jersey, 1980, p. 174 (ill.).
Uhr, H. Masterpieces of German Expressionism at the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1982, p. 160 (ill.).
100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, p. 17 (fig. 11).
Scheurmann, Ingrid. "Das neu Menschenbild immitten der Landschaft -- Paula Modersohn-Beckker und die Worpsweder Kunstlerkolonie." ReisenZeiten: streifzuge durch die deutsche Kulturlandschaft. Bonn, 1996, pp. 357-389 (ill.).
Paula Modersohn-Becker und die Kunst in paris um 1900 -- Von Cezanne bis Picasso. Exh. cat., Kunsthalle Bremen. Bremen, 2007, pp. 181, 204, 232 (ill.).
Kelly, Simon and Maite van Dijk, eds. Jean-Francois Millet: Sowing the Seeds of Modern Art. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum and St. Louis Art Museum. Amsterdam, 2019, p. 173, cat. 177 (ill.), p. 203.
Greenberger, Alex. 5 Works to Know by Paula Modersohn-Becker, the 'First Modern Woman Artist'. (January 14, 2022). https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/paula-modersohn-becker-best-works-1234615629/#recipient_hashed=00a63b28b0c9651824eb8c227bb3de88cdedba65d6caa1e6ad7ea7b82d204609 [accessed on 1/18/2022].
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Paula Modersohn-Becker, Old Peasant Woman, 1907, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Robert H. Tannahill, 58.385.
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