- 18
Alexej von Jawlensky
Description
- Alexej von Jawlensky
- ABSTRAKTER KOPF: TRAGIK(ABSTRACT HEAD: TRAGIC)
- signed A.J. (lower left) and dated II 28 (lower right); dated 1928 and inscribed N.101 on the reverse
- oil on board
- 42 by 32.5cm.
- 16 1/2 by 12 3/4 in.
Provenance
Kunstkabinett Klihm, Munich (acquired from the artist)
Redfern Gallery, London
Galerie Alex Vömel, Düsseldorf (acquired by 1959)
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 17th May 1978, lot 65
Purchased at the above sale by the late owner
Exhibited
San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, The Blue Four. Jawlensky and Paul Klee, 1931, probably no. 35 (titled Tragic)
Frankfurt, Frankfurter Kunstkabinett & Munich, Kunstkabinett Klihm, Alexej von Jawlensky, 1954, no. 42a
New York, Sidney Janis Gallery, Alexej von Jawlensky, 1957, no. 39, illustrated in the catalogue (titled Tragic Head)
Literature
Bruno E. Werner, Die zwanziger Jahre, Munich, 1962, illustrated p. 35
Clemens Weiler, Jawlensky Heads, Faces, Meditations, London, 1971, no. 247, listed p. 124
Wener Haftmann, Malerei im 20. Jahrhundert 2, Munich, 1980, no. 751, illustrated p. 300
Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky & Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, London, 1992, vol. II, no. 1289, illustrated in colour p. 451
Condition
"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."
Catalogue Note
By employing anonymous portraits to express the power and impact of colour, Jawlensky believed that ‘human faces are for me only suggestions to see something else in them – the life of colour, seized with a lover’s passion’ (quoted in Clemens Weiler, op. cit., 1971, p. 12). Another important influence on Jawlensky’s form of abstraction was the multi-dimensional approach of the Cubists, whose fragmented and highly abstracted compositions he had seen in Paris. As Clemens Weiler has noted: ‘Cubism, with which he became acquainted in 1910, supplied Jawlensky with the means of simplifying, condensing and stylizing the facial form even further, and this simplified and reduced shape he counterbalanced by means of even more intense and brilliant colouring. This enabled him to give these comparatively small heads a monumentality and expressive power that were quite independent of their actual size’ (ibid., p. 14).