Alexej von Jawlensky

Galerie Alex Vömel, Düsseldorf (sold: Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Stuttgart, 28th & 29th May 1957, lot 351)
Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Düsseldorf
Estate of Wilhelm Grosshennig, Düsseldorf
Jan Ahlers, Herford
Christoph Graf Douglas, Frankfurt & Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York (acquired from the above)
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2001

Düsseldorf, Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Deutsche Expressionisten, 1957, illustrated in colour on the cover of the catalogue
Frankfurt, Frankfurter Kunstverein & Hamburg, Kunstverein, Jawlensky, 1967, no. 81, illustrated in the catalogue (with incorrect medium)
Düsseldorf, Galerie Wilhelm Grosshennig, Deutsche und französische Meisterwerke, 1983, no. 11, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Bielefeld, Kunsthalle, Oh meine Zeit, so namenlos zerrissen, 1985-86, no. 102
Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (on loan 1986-2000)

Weltkunst, Munich, 1957, XXVII, no. 24, illustrated
Clemens Weiler, Alexej Jawlensky, Cologne, 1959, no. 547, illustrated p. 265
Lothar-Günther Buchheim, Der Blaue Reiter und die 'Neue Künstlervereinigung München', Feldafing, 1959, illustrated in colour p. 214
Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky & Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky. Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, London, 1991, vol. I, no. 340, illustrated in colour p. 269

The board is stable. There are some scattered small spots and thin lines of retouching, predominantly in the trees, and at the lower framing edge. Apart from some small scuffs and losses to the edges of the board, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the greens have a slightly deeper tonality in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This vibrant and powerful composition was executed at the height of Jawlensky's Expressionist style. Made up of patches of strong, vivid colours, the composition is dominated by the hill that occupies the foreground and middle ground, with trees on its top silhouetted against the sky. The path that rises from the lower centre leads the viewer's eye in a gently curving line towards the centre of the composition. The range of intense greens, purples and reds, set against a backdrop of a dark blue sky, is typical of Jawlensky's Expressionist palette that characterised his paintings of this period, many of which were executed during his stays in Murnau.

Clemens Weiler wrote of Jawlensky's landscapes from this period: 'During his Murnau years, Jawlensky developed a completely new style. In the period in which the group were working together, he was the most advanced. He delineated his areas of colour with dark contours and thus managed to turn the whole composition into planes. He not only reduced landscapes in this way, but also still-lifes, simplifying his forms ever more powerfully and limiting them to a few boldly contrasting colours. In this way Jawlensky made the change to strict composition, like the French Fauves – and in particular Derain, as a result of the major Cézanne exhibition in Paris in 1907 – a tendency that had in France grown out of Analytical Cubism. Jawlensky thus constructed his paintings with the help of Cézanne and placed his colours against each other in the manner of Gauguin. What he added, however, was a heavy Russian saturation of colours. Colour is never used decoratively by him; rather, it is always invested with feeling, it has inner meaning' (C. Weiler, op. cit., p. 67, translated from German).