A Russian woman asked me if I really saw things the way I portrayed them, and who had taught me. I lied and proudly said, "My husband." At that, she had a revelation and said enlightened, "Oh, you paint like your husband paints." They don't suspect that one paints like oneself. Paula Modersohn-Becker painted like herself, and when she died on November 20, 1907, at the age of 31, she left behind a body of work that made an impact. In her letters to her parents, and later especially to Otto Modersohn, she speaks of her work, describing with great precision the paintings that impressed her in museums. Paula Becker is a captivating letter writer, and in her descriptions, one can see her artistic maturity develop over the few years of her creative life, as if she knew she wouldn't have much time.