Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum

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Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum in Bremer Böttcherstraße, June 2002

The Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum is a museum built in Bremen in 1927 . It is the first museum in the world to be dedicated to the work of a woman painter. Major works from all creative phases demonstrate the outstanding importance of Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) for the dawn of modern art in Germany.

History and importance of the house

The expressionist building of the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum was designed by Bernhard Hoetger (1874–1949), whom Ludwig Roselius commissioned around 1924. Ludwig Roselius was the founder of Kaffee-Handels-Aktiengesellschaft (see Kaffee HAG ), inventor of decaffeinated coffee and a great admirer of Paula Modersohn-Becker's art. This connected him with the architect Bernhard Hoetger, who himself owned some pictures by Paula Modersohn-Becker. Hoetger and the artist met in Paris in 1906.

Construction of the museum and redesign of Böttcherstraße

Exterior view of the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, April 2008

The idea of ​​redesigning Böttcherstraße originally arose independently of Ludwig Roselius' art collection. At the beginning of the 20th century, the small alley was characterized by dilapidated houses and poor hygienic conditions. With the new buildings, Roselius wanted to give the street a new shine and turn it into a tourist attraction. It was only during construction that he developed the plan to make art, and especially his works by Paula Modersohn-Becker, accessible to the public in one of the buildings. Construction of today's museum began in 1926 and was officially opened on June 2, 1927 - Roselius' 53rd birthday - as was the entire redesigned Böttcherstrasse. The building was given the name "Paula-Becker-Modersohn-Haus" with the artist's maiden name in front. Roselius wanted to realize tradition and progress at the same time in the building, and he saw Bernhard Hoetger as the most suitable architect for this project. According to Roselius, Hoetger is closely connected to the Lower Saxon and Nordic home traditions and is therefore predestined for the implementation of a new building on Böttcherstraße. The contrast between tradition and modernity was finally brought together by Hoetger in a synthesis in the form of brick expressionism. Roselius saw the Paula-Becker-Modersohn-Haus not only as a functional building, but also as a work of art that should find its place in the street. The Frankfurter Zeitung writes at the opening that a “living museum” has been created that successfully combines the present and the past: “Hoetger's style is in motion everywhere: he gives birth to [sic!] Him. Confused, contrasting light sources, walls torn open by clinker bricks suddenly popping out, irregular contours, the fantastic decoration of the ceilings and walls, the superlatives of expressiveness give Hoetger's work its character. "

The Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum between 1933 and 1945

Bernhard Hoetger: Archangel Michael, The fight with the dragon. Location: Entrance to Böttcherstraße in Bremen. Photo: Jürgen Howaldt.

Criticism of the expressionist style of the Paula-Becker-Modersohn house was not uncommon, but it reached its peak under the National Socialists. In a speech at the party congress in Nuremberg in 1936, Hitler condemned the entire "Böttcherstrasse culture" and called on Ludwig Roselius to distance himself from it. As an example of the “art of decay”, the street was to be preserved, however, the Paula Modersohn-Becker collection by Roselius was declared a private collection and could only be viewed upon special request. The museum guide has been adapted and the company now clearly distanced itself from Hoetger's style. In 1936 the entrance to Böttcherstraße was also renewed. The bricks on the bridge, which appear to be in motion, have been replaced by Hoetger's portrait of “The Light Bringer”, on which the Archangel Michael fights a dragon. In the Christian tradition Michael is regarded as the conqueror of the devil in the form of the dragon and as the leader of the heavenly hosts. According to the National Socialist interpretation, the Archangel should bring a new worldview. He kills the past and leads people into the millennium. This should be associated with Adolf Hitler, who redeemed the German people and led them into a new Reich.

The dedication on a plaque at the entrance to Böttcherstraße has also been changed in the meantime. In 1927 it was still "This is the Paula-Becker-Modersohn house from old houses Fall and remodeling built by Bernhard Hoetger's hand as a sign of noble women testifying work that is victorious when brave men fame blows away", the word "if" became through replaces the word "to". It should not be implied that an artist's work could outlast brave exploits by men. Today, however, the “if” has been put back in its original position.

1945 until today

After the Second World War, a large part of Böttcherstrasse was destroyed and was rebuilt by 1954. The street has been a listed building since 1973. In 1988 the Sparkasse Bremen acquired almost the entire Böttcherstrasse, including the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum. At the same time, renewed damage to the building became noticeable, so that the museum was renovated and expanded until 1994. Böttcherstraße GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the financial holding company of the Sparkasse in Bremen, was responsible for the Böttcherstraße museums until 2020. The Böttcherstraße museums have been an independent foundation GmbH since 2020.

Collections

Sign at the entrance of the Böttcherstrasse museums

The core of the Ludwig Roselius collection was acquired in 1988 by the municipality of Bremen together with the Federal Republic of Germany. Important works of art in Ludwig Roselius' collection were supplemented by loans from the Paula Modersohn-Becker Foundation . The foundation was established in 1978 by Tille Modersohn, the painter's daughter, and manages her artistic estate. This includes around 50 paintings and 500 drawings and sketches by Paula Modersohn-Becker. The works are kept and shown in the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum and in the Kunsthalle Bremen. Together, the museum, the art gallery and the foundation own a large part of the entire inventory of the work of the artist who died young, with over 100 paintings and 700 hand drawings.

In addition to the works of Modersohn-Becker, the museum houses the most extensive collection of works by the sculptor, artisan and architect Bernhard Hoetger. Although Hoetger is mainly known for his sculptures and architectural structures, he was also active as a painter and graphic artist. Among other things, he painted the landscape in and around Worpswede and thus partly resembles Paula Modersohn-Becker in his choice of motifs.

Jenny Holzer in the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum

The American artist Jenny Holzer visited the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum in 2002 and was impressed by both the biography of Paula Modersohn-Becker and the architecture of the building. She adapted her installation “Mother and Child”, which won a prize at the Venice Biennale in 1990, inspired by Hoetger's sculpture “Mother and Child” and made it available to the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum as a permanent installation, which since 2005 has been entitled “For Paula Modersohn-Becker ”can be seen there. Here she picks up the blue points of light from Hoetger's dome roof of the Heavenly Hall in the Atlantis House and deals with her life as an artist and mother. Thus, an homage to both artists has succeeded. The blue lettering runs along the staircase in the museum in German and English and in different fonts and sizes. "The installation is always there - it's good when it looks different, when you come back when you come back," says the artist herself about her work.

Exhibition program

Hall 1 of the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum

The museum shows works from all of the artist's creative periods. The first pictures from her time in Worpswede were created under the influence of her teacher Fritz Mackensen in the 1890s and are just as much part of the collection as her later works, which were created during her stays in Paris between 1899 and 1906. Paula Modersohn-Becker is known not only for her moorland landscapes but also for her self-portraits and portraits. Important paintings and drawings from the former Ludwig Roselius collection are complemented by loans from the Paula Modersohn-Becker Foundation . In addition to the works of Modersohn-Becker, the museum houses the most extensive collection of works by the sculptor, craftsman and architect Bernhard Hoetger (1874–1949). The rooms he designed are now used for special exhibitions on classical modern art.

Special exhibitions (selection)

The various special exhibitions mostly deal with themes from classical modernism and deal with the partly forgotten female artists of this era.

  • February 21 to May 9, 2010: near vision. Käthe Kollwitz - Heinrich Zille
  • July 18 to September 19, 2010: Paula Modersohn-Becker. Pioneer of modernity
  • October 10, 2010 to January 9, 2011: Elfriede Stegemeyer - elde steeg. Double life of an avant-garde
  • January 23 to April 3, 2011: vis-à-vis. From halo to LED
  • April 10 to July 3, 2011: Mathilde Vollmoeller-Purrmann. Festival of colors
  • July 10 to October 10, 2011: Where the journey is going ... on the road with Esther, Judith, Sibylle and Fritz Haase
  • October 16, 2011 to February 26, 2012: Oda Krohg - painter and muse in the circle of Edvard Munch
  • March 11 to June 3, 2012: Moving bronze - dance sculptures by Bernhard Hoetger
  • July 15 to October 28, 2012: Worpsweder Lichtbilder: the artist colony in early photographs
  • July 28 to August 18, 2012: Photo marathon FoTO Go!
  • September 9 to October 28, 2012: Knick Knick
  • November 11, 2012 to February 24, 2013: 20th Video Art Award Bremen
  • November 11, 2012 to February 24, 2013: Manessier - composer of colors
  • March 10th to June 9th 2013: Merciless - Artists and the Funny
  • June 23 to October 6, 2013: All roads lead to Böttcherstraße. 50 years of Haase & Knels - design studio
  • July 7, 2013 to February 2, 2014: The Böttcherstrasse as an idea
  • October 20, 2013 to February 2, 2014: You. Self. Naked. Paula Modersohn-Becker and other artists in self-act
  • March 23 to July 6, 2014: Paula Modersohn-Becker: Berlin - Worpswede - Paris
  • July 20 to October 6, 2014: Marianne Werefkin: From the Blue Rider to the Big Bear
  • September 24, 2017 to February 4, 2018: sleep. A productive waste of time
  • September 15, 2019 to February 9, 2020: I am I - Paula Modersohn-Becker. The self-portraits
  • February 22 to June 7, 2020: Body.Feel - Maria Lassnig from the Klewan Collection

Movies

See also

literature

  • American Academy Berlin / Nationalgalerie Berlin (Ed.): Jenny Holzer OH. Exhib. Cat. Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Berlin 2001.
  • Tallasch, Hans (Ed.): Project Böttcherstraße, Delmenhorst 2002.
  • Paula Modersohn-Becker Foundation Bremen (Ed.): Paula Modersohn-Becker. The paintings of the three Bremen collections. Catalog on the occasion of the exhibition “Paula Modersohn-Becker in Bremen. The Kunsthalle as a guest in Böttcherstraße. 100 paintings from three Bremen collections ”from October 23, 1996 to April 6, 1997, Bremen 1996.
  • Anczykowski, Maria (Ed.): Hoetger. Sculpture - Painting - Design - Architecture, Bremen 1998.
  • Schwarzwälder, Herbert (Ed.): Das Große Bremen Lexikon, Bremen 2002.

Web links

Commons : Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tallasch, Hans: A brief history of the development of the Paula-Becker-Modersohn-Haus or How art came to Böttcherstraße, in: Hans Tallasch (ed.): Project Böttcherstraße, Delmenhorst 2002, pp. 147–156, here p 153f.
  2. ↑ Anczykowski, Maria Bernhard Hoetger- Paula Modersohn-Becker - Ludwig Roselius: interdependence. In: Maria Anczykowski (ed.): Hoetger. Sculpture - painting - design - architecture, exh. Cat. Kunstsammlungen Böttcherstraße, Bremen 1998, p. 201f.
  3. ↑ van Alphen, Dirk: A businessman and his "hobby horse". Comments on the history of the Paula Becker Modersohn House in Bremen. In: Maria Anczykowski (ed.): Hoetger. Sculpture - painting - design - architecture, exh. Cat. Kunstsammlungen Böttcherstraße, Bremen 1998, p. 207.
  4. ↑ Anczykowski 1998: p. 204.
  5. ↑ Anczykowski 1998: p. 26.
  6. ↑ Aschenbeck, Nils: The Paula-Becker-Modersohn-Haus by Bernhard Hoetger, in: Hans Tallasch (ed.): Project Böttcherstraße, pp. 157–168, here p. 158.
  7. ↑ van Alphen 1998: p. 207.
  8. ↑ van Alphen 1998: p. 209.
  9. ↑ Hartmann, Eugen: Die Böttcherstraße in Bremen - for the inauguration on June 2, 1927, in: Frankfurter Zeitung of June 1, 1927
  10. ↑ Anczykowski 1998: p. 205.
  11. ^ Monument database of the LfD
  12. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.boettcherstrasse.de
  13. ↑ http://www.pmb-stiftung.de/stiftung.html
  14. ^ Wempe, Margret: On the question of modernity in Bernhard Hoetger's painterly oeuvre, in: Maria Anczykowski (ed.): Hoetger. Sculpture - painting - design - architecture, exh. Cat. Kunstsammlungen Böttcherstraße, Bremen 1998, p. 84ff.
  15. ↑ Jenny Holzer "Mother and Child" (1990), in: American Academy Berlin / Nationalgalerie Berlin (ed.): Jenny Holzer OH. Exhib. Cat. Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, Berlin 2001, p. 83.
  16. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated November 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pmbm.de
  17. ↑ Holzer, Jenny: MAK Vienna 2006, Schlebrügge Editor p. 60.
  18. ↑ Hetscher, Iris: Let three Bremen collections have a completely new effect, online: http://www.weser-kurier.de/Artikel/Bremen/Kultur/167748/Drei+Bremer+Sammlungen+ganz+neu+haben+ Lassen.html (As of November 21, 2012)
  19. ↑ König, Peter: Mother and Child in Blue, online: http://www.taz.de/1/archiv/archiv/?dig=2005/05/14/a0389 (as of November 27, 2012)
  20. ^ Northwest Radio: Talk time. With Frank Laukötter, director of the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum from March 28, 2012, online: Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (As of November 23, 2012) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.radiobremen.de

Coordinates: 53 ° 4 ′ 30.4 "  N , 8 ° 48 ′ 21.5"  E