Contemporary critics found her painting incomprehensible, and during the Third Reich, it was condemned as 'degenerate.' The equation of her art with the themes of her paintings long obscured the true significance of Paula Modersohn-Becker's (1876-1907) work. However, her quiet yet determined search for her own artistic language instinctively guided her towards modernity. After her training at a Berlin art academy for women, she joined the artist colony in Worpswede, where she found encouragement, inspiration, and motifs that resonated with her. Yet, the tranquil Worpswede soon felt too confining. Her regular brief escapes to the art metropolis of Paris accelerated her artistic development. In grappling with her own roots and engaging in dialogue with the works of Cézanne, Gauguin, and van Gogh, she found her unmistakable style within a few years. On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the artist colony Worpswede, we are reissuing our overview volume, which was first published in 1991.