Paula Modersohn-Becker, German painter (born 1876)

Paula Modersohn-Becker was a German Expressionist painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is noted for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude self-portraits. She is considered one of the most important representatives of early expressionism, producing more than 700 paintings and over 1000 drawings during her active painting life. She is recognized both as the first known woman painter to paint nude self-portraits, and the first woman to have a museum devoted exclusively to her art. Additionally, she is considered to be the first woman artist to depict herself both pregnant and nude and pregnant.