Alexej von Jawlensky (1867 Moskau - 1941 Wiesbaden)

Alexei von Jawlensky (1867 Moscow - 1941 Wiesbaden)                                                                                                                          'Meditation', oil on linen-textured paper mounted on cardboard, 17.5 cm x 12.5 cm, backing board (dimensions) 30.5 cm x 25 cm, monogrammed, dated 36, inscribed on verso of backing board A. Jawlensky, dated IX. 1936, numbered N. 20, inscribed I.A, pinholes in corners, edge lower right with minimal paper tear (through pinhole), backing board with mounting residues. The painting was submitted to the Alexej von Jawlensky Archive S.A. in October 2022, confirmation of inclusion in the catalogue raisonné follows.

The German-Russian painter Alexej von Jawlensky first graduated from the military academy in Moscow and then studied at the St. Petersburg Art Academy and with fellow artists, such as Wassily Kandinsky, in Munich. He was a founding member of the Neue Künstlervereinigung München and was thus close to the world-famous ''Blauer Reiter'' group of artists. His colour palette consists of bright colours and a striking brushstroke with dark outlines that always remained figurative. However, over the years he moved towards abstraction through his works on the features of the human face. Our present work from 1936 belongs to the ''Meditation'' series, as does the face on a gold background in the Lenbachhaus Museum in Munich. Since 1929, Alexei Jawlensky had suffered from arthritis, which forced him into almost complete paralysis during his last phases of work, forcing him to give up painting altogether. ''So the years went by in great work. And then I fell ill and I suppose I could go on working, even so my hands became more and more stiff. I could no longer hold the brush in one hand, I had to use both hands, always with great pain. My format became very small, and I also had to find a new technique. For three years I painted these little abstract heads like a man possessed. Then I felt that soon I would have to stop working altogether. And so it came to pass!'' Art historian Armin Zweite has studied the artist's three working years between 1934 - 1937 and analysed the variations of over hundreds of the artist's works. The head motif shows ''[...] heavy bars in deep black the Greek cross resting on the horizontal marking of the mouth and overlaid above by the brows bordering the forehead. Due to the parallel brushstrokes, the intervening areas gain a structure of their own. [.] At the root of the nose, the wisdom sign applied at the end shines in a light tone and further underlines the religious-meditative character of the paintings.'' This character also appears in our work like that of an icon. Here, the painterly countenance is divided into colour fields in blue, red, green and yellowish tones and, despite the strong abstraction, appears extremely emotional and profound. Even if this sorrowful face was not set on a gold ground, it is still permeated by a strong spirituality. Literature: Friedel, Helmut; Hoberg, Annegret: Der Blaue Reiter im Lenbachhaus Munich, Prestel Verlag, 2007