Customer Reviews

Dear Friend: Rainer Maria Rilke and Paula Modersohn-Becker

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This well-written and well-researched book is important for anyone interested in painting at the turn of the century, in the position of woman artists at that time, or in Paul Modersohn-Becker herself. It also offers insights into the life and psyche of the famous poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Modersohn-Becker suffers from being known primarily through "Requiem for a Friend," a poem written about her by Rilke, whose view is colored by his own needs and beliefs. Torgersen shows that far from only having made a good beginning, as Rilke claimed, Modersohn-Becker had developed a style of her own and had created a number of arresting and original paintings. Rilke also claimed that in attempting to reconcile marriage and a career in art, Modersohn-Becker had chosen wrongly. Torgersen traces Modersohn-Becker's handling of her husband's attempt to to assert authority over her, and shows that she had convinced him to allow space for her art in their marriage. This, too, was a remarkable achievement for her time. Art historians and feminists ought to read this book.

This well-written and well-researched book is important for anyone interested in painting at the turn of the century, in the position of woman artists at that time, or in Paula Modersohn-Becker herself. It also offers insights into the life and psyche of the famous poet Rainer Maira Rilke. Modersohn-Becker suffers from being known primarily though "Requiem for a Friend," a poem written about her by Rilke, whose view is colored by his own needs and beliefs. Torgersen shows that far from only having made a good beginning, as Rilke claimed, Modersohn-Becker had developed a style of her own and had created a number of arresting and original paintings. Rilke also claimed that in attempting to reconcile marriage and a career in art, Modersohn-Becker had chosen wrongly. Torgersen traces Modersohn-Becker's handling of her husband's attempt to assert authority over her, and shows that she had convinced him to allow space for her art in their marriage. This, too, was a remarkable achievement for her time. Art historians and feminists ought to read this book.