Paula-Becker-Modersohn-House
Paula-Becker-Modersohn-House was built 1926-27 by Bernhard Hoetger as an exhibition space with a sales room.
In the courtyard of the museum is the Artisans’ Yard, with the "Fountain of the 7 Lazy Brothers" by Bernhard Hoetger and workshops for arts and crafts. The workshops, an idea originating with Roselius, create and sell high quality handcrafts.
The building was destroyed in 1944, and reconstructed in 1954. In 1993 basic restoration work was carried out by the bank Sparkasse Bremen, and the building was given an additional storey.
Today it is the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, home to a comprehensive collection of paintings by this important modern artist.
Nowadays, the Artisans’ Yard accommodates a goldsmith (Goldschmiede), a glassblower, a Museum Education Room (Kunst&GeschichtenLaden), as well as the Albers Maritim Shop and the Arts and Crafts Shop.
Which is the correct Name?
Modersohn-Becker or Becker-Modersohn?
You may be aware that sometimes the artist’s name is given one way and sometimes
another: for example, there is the Paula-Becker-Modersohn-House and the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum. Which is correct? Actually, both are. When reference is made to the House, the artist’s maiden name, Becker, is written first because Ludwig Roselius had it inscribed this way. According to his line of thinking, the artist was born Paula Becker; only later did the woman marry Otto Modersohn (also a painter) and append his surname to her own. Roselius wanted to pay tribute to her inborn artistic talent, so, he privileged her birth name by putting it first. This is why he named the building the Paula-Becker-Modersohn-Haus. Over time, however, the name Paula Modersohn-Becker has become the more commonly used. It is, for example, how the artist is recorded in art literature. Therefore, on Böttcherstrasse, you will find the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum in the Paula-Becker-Modersohn-House.