--- description: Paula Modersohn-Becker, who helped introduce modernism to the world is celebrated by a Google Doodle on her 142nd birthday title: Google Doodle Celebrates Painter Paula Modersohn-Becker image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e3a3123290d392b/698926ba4ee262d374310ccb/paula-modersohn-becker_google-doodle.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 5 Things to Know About Pioneering Artist Paula Modersohn-Becker by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:37 AM CUTPublished: Feb 8, 2018 2:55 AM CUT  Google's Doodle celebrates artist Paula Modersohn-Becker on what would have been her 142nd birthday on Feb. 8, 2018. Google's Doodle celebrates artist Paula Modersohn-Becker on what would have been her 142nd birthday on Feb. 8, 2018.Golden Cosmos/Google Doodle by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:37 AM CUTPublished: Feb 8, 2018 2:55 AM CUT On Paula Modersohn-Becker’s 142nd birthday, Google is celebrating the under-appreciated German artist [with a Google Doodle](https://www.google.com/doodles/paula-modersohn-beckers-142nd-birthday "undefined"). The [first woman](https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/paula-modersohn-becker-modern-paintings-missing-piece#slide%5Fss%5F0=8 "undefined") to paint a naked self-portrait didn’t care much for the traditional expectations or institutions that constrained most European women at the turn of the 20th century. Paula Modersohn-Becker’s parents wanted her[ to become a teacher](http://www.paula-modersohn-becker.com "undefined"), and told her to [abandon her “egotism”](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/04/being-here-life-paula-modersohn-becker-marie-darrieussecq-review "undefined") in order to carry out her wifely duties; instead, she became one of the era’s most prolific artists, and helped give rise to the modernist movement alongside Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.  Werbe-Plakat für "Paula Modersohn-Becker-Museum", Marktplatz, Bremen, Deutschland, Europa, Reise, BB, DIG; P.-Nr.: 731/2013, 12.10.2013; (Photo by Peter Bischoff/Getty Images) Peter Bischoff—Getty Images Google’s Doodle for Modersohn-Becker was created by [Golden Cosmos](http://www.golden-cosmos.com/about/ "undefined"), a Berlin-based art duo. The illustration features Modersohn-Becker at work, brush and flowers in hand, with four completed works behind her. ## 5 Things You Should Know About Paula Modersohn-Becker: --- > “” --- 1\. **Modersohn-Becker** [**sold just three**](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/04/being-here-life-paula-modersohn-becker-marie-darrieussecq-review "undefined") **paintings**, but she pursued her work with a ferocity fueled by a sense that she had “lost” the first two decades of her life. 2\. At the age of 18, **Modersohn-Becker defied her parents to join an artist colony in Worpswede**, in northern Germany. There, she met her future husband, the older, respected artist Otto Modersohn. 3\. Eager to learn more about modern art, Modersohn-Becker soon after moved to Paris, and encouraged Modersohn to join her. The two got engaged, at which point her family intervened and [**sent Modersohn-Becker**](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/04/being-here-life-paula-modersohn-becker-marie-darrieussecq-review "undefined") **to a cooking school** in preparation for her coming marriage. But Modersohn-Becker refused to put aside her ambitions and paint brushes, and boldly declared she “[was going to become somebody](https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=d2k7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=was+going+to+%22become+somebody%22+paula+Modersohn-Becker&source=bl&ots=dZ5YrI61yQ&sig=jK2-F7kmf5gAct4c0-6qdr2M9Ms&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhh-SPn5XZAhVGXrwKHcWICkgQ6AEITjAN#v=onepage&q=was%20going%20to%20%22become%20somebody%22%20paula%20Modersohn-Becker&f=false "undefined")“. Her works often featured regular women, frequently painted nude, as they slept, breastfed and gardened. 4\. In 1906 alone, the prolific artist painted 80 pictures. **Modersohn-Becker died at the age of 31** the following year of an embolism, [18 days after](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/26/arts/design/paula-modersohn-becker-and-her-thwarted-ambitions.html "undefined") giving birth to her daughter. 5\. The literal fruits of her labor — **Modersohn-Becker painted pumpkins, cherries and lemons** — were commemorated by her friend, the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, in his [ode to her](http://www.nupress.northwestern.edu/content/dear-friend "undefined"), “Requiem for a Friend.” 5 Things to Know About Artist Paula Modersohn-Becker ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5138852/paula-modersohn-becker-google-doodle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5138852/paula-modersohn-becker-google-doodle/"},"headline":"5 Things to Know About Pioneering Artist Paula Modersohn-Becker","datePublished":"2018-02-08T02:55:50.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T11:37:50.000Z","description":"The illustration commemorates what would have been the artist's 142nd birthday","url":"https://time.com/5138852/paula-modersohn-becker-google-doodle/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Google Doodle","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e3a3123290d392b/698926ba4ee262d374310ccb/paula-modersohn-becker_google-doodle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e3a3123290d392b/698926ba4ee262d374310ccb/paula-modersohn-becker_google-doodle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"paula-modersohn-becker_Google Doodle","caption":"Google's Doodle celebrates artist Paula Modersohn-Becker on what would have been her 142nd birthday on Feb. 8, 2018.","creditText":"Golden Cosmos/Google Doodle","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5138852/paula-modersohn-becker-google-doodle/","name":"5 Things to Know About Pioneering Artist Paula Modersohn-Becker"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Google Makes its Doodles","description":"Our videographer went to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California to meet some of the designers and coders who create the special, clever variations on the Google.com logo known as","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/upF0qp1E/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-07-07T16:09:57.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/upF0qp1E.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5138852/paula-modersohn-becker-google-doodle/","duration":"PT3M23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5138852/paula-modersohn-becker-google-doodle/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```