The Portrait of Rainer Maria Rilke is an oil and tempera on cardboard painting by Paula Modersohn-Becker, from 1906. It is held in the Ludwig Roselius Museum, in Bremen.Portrait of Rainer Maria Rilke (1906) by Paula Modersohn-Becker, Artchive
History and description The Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke and the painter Paula Modersohn-Becker had been close friends since around 1901. In 1902, however, he didn't mentioned her, nor his own wife, Clara Westhoff, in his art book Worpswede über die Künstlerkolonie , about an artists colony.Eric Torgerson, Dear Friend - Rainer Maria Rilke and Paula Modersohn-Becker, Northwestern University Press, 2000
In 1906, Modersohn-Becker and Rilke were both living in a boarding house in Paris and had close contact with each other. This portrait was created at that time as an oil tempera on cardboard painting.Rainer Stamm (coordinator), Paula Modersohn-Becker. Briefwechsel mit Rainer Maria Rilke, Insel, nº 1242, 2003 (German)Paula Modersohn-Becker — Early Expressionist Painter, Classic Chicago
The portrait focus on his head, depicting Rilke with a thoughtful and introspective expression, in earthy tones and expressive textures.
Afterwards, both returned to their families. Modersohn-Becker died the following year, shortly after giving birth to a child. The tragic loss deeply affected Rilke. He processed his grief in his poem Requiem for a Friend (1908).Diane Radycki, Paula Modersohn-Becker - The First Modern Woman Artist, Yale University Press, 2013
Rilke disliked the current portrait, despite his friendship with the artist. In 1922, Rilke wrote in a letter that he didn't liked any of the portraits that had been made of him so far, with the exception of a bust by .Ingeborg Schnack (coordinator), Rainer Maria Rilke. Die Briefe an Gräfin Sizzo, 1921–1926, Insel, 1950/1977, pp. 22-23 (German)
Despite his disapproval, the depiction made by Modersohn-Becker became one the most famous of his portraits.
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