Der alte Bredow

Paula Modersohn-Becker's portrait of 'Der alte Bredow' — the old man Bredow — belongs to her sustained engagement with the elderly inhabitants of Worpswede and the surrounding area, whom she painted with a simplifying directness that anticipated Expressionism. The identity of Bredow is likely that of an elderly local resident rather than a distinguished sitter; Modersohn-Becker's choice to paint ordinary old people with the same formal seriousness usually reserved for portraiture of the eminent was itself a statement about the dignity of common life. The work is in the Bavarian State Painting Collections.

The elderly man is depicted with the simplified, frontal directness characteristic of Modersohn-Becker's figural approach. Facial features are modeled in broad planes rather than conventional tonal graduation, giving the face a sculptural weight. The palette is warm and earth-toned; the background plain and unobtrusive.