Making Modernism
Paula Modersohn-Becker, Käthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin
12 November 2022 - 12 February 2023
The Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries
Tues–Sun: 10am–6pm
Fri: 10am–9pm
Tickets £17-19 (including donation). Concessions available. For the best experience, book ahead.
Friends of the RA go free
Discover the trailblazing women hidden from the history of 20th-century Modernism.
Please note:
• This exhibition will be open until 9pm on Friday evenings.
• Our galleries, shops and restaurants close at 6pm Tuesday–Thursday and at 9pm on Friday.
Making Modernism is the first major UK exhibition devoted to pioneering women working in Germany in the early 1900s: Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kӓthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin.
Celebrated in their native homelands, this exhibition will introduce their innovative paintings and works on paper, alongside key pictures by Erma Bossi, Ottilie Reylaender and Jacoba van Heemskerck.
The exhibition reframes subjects such as self-portraiture, still-life, the female body, depictions of childhood, landscapes and urban scenes through the experiences and perspectives of these ground-breaking artists who – although less familiar than their male counterparts, such as Wassily Kandinsky – were no less central to the development of radical new approaches to art in Europe.
Bringing together 65 works, many never seen in the UK before, Making Modernism foregrounds the individuality of each artist whilst shining a spotlight on the strong affinities between them. Combining impressive, bold and intimately-scaled works, this exhibition explores themes of identity, representation and belonging – all powerfully relevant today.
Our Friends preview days take place on Thursday 10 November, 10am-6pm, and Friday 11 November, 10am-9pm.
Supporters
Supported by
Reviews
“A thrilling female perspective on sex, self, birth and death"
The i
“A revelatory look at four female artists”
Evening Standard
"Trailblazing women whose work has so often been hidden"
The Times
"A survey of Expressionism from a female perspective"
The Telegraph
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Exhibition Tour
What would Modernism look like if you saw it through the eyes of women artists? How could it change your perception? What other stories might you find? Watch Royal Academy curators Sarah Lea and Professor Dorothy Price discuss the pioneering work of Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kӓthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin, four women making art on their own terms.
Image gallery
Twins, 1909
Portrait of Anna Roslund, 1917
Baby, Breastfeeding, c.1904
Girl with Child , 1902
Lovers Nestling Against Each Other, 1909/10
Circus – Before the Show, 1908-10
Still-life with Goldfish Bowl, 1906
Still-life on the Tram (After Shopping), c. 1912
Read Rachel Cusk on German Modernism’s women artists
Making Modernism puts Germany's pioneering women artists – Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kӓthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin – centre stage.
Writer Rachel Cusk reflects on how they emerged from the shadow of their male peers.
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