Paula Modersohn-Becker and Edvard Munch: Dresden exhibition explores the big questions of life

The Albertinum of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden is presenting an ambitious exhibition that brings together, for the first time, two of the most compelling artistic figures of the early modern era: Paula Modersohn-Becker and Edvard Munch. Titled “Paula Modersohn-Becker and Edvard Munch. The Big Questions of Life,” the exhibition assembles around 150 works to explore how both artists grappled with the fundamental experiences of human existence. The show coincides with a significant anniversary, marking 150 years since Modersohn-Becker’s birth in Dresden on February 8, 1876. Through paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture, the exhibition traces how both artists responded to the profound social and cultural transformations unfolding around 1900. Industrialization, technological advances, and shifting social norms shaped their lives and creative outlooks, yet both remained deeply focused on the individual. Their works examine themes such as birth and death, illnes