Alexandra Smolyanskaya, an art historian and employee of the Russian Museum, will talk at the lecture about the renowned German painter and graphic artist Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907), a representative of the early expressionism. Her oeuvre has always inspired the remarkable Petersburg painter Julia Sopina, whose works are presented at the exhibition Myths about Life. The lecturer will draw attention to the range of themes and their treatment in Modersohn-Becker's works, in particular her mysterious and intriguing images of children, echoing Sopina's paintings. We shall discuss the fate of creative women in the early twentieth century, talk about the difficult path of the artist’s self-assertion in the overwhelmingly masculine art world of that time.

Duration: 1 hour