Marianne Werefkin

Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired by 1962)
Thence by descent to the present owner in February 2016

Berlin, Galerie der Sturm, 1913
Wiesbaden, Museum Wiesbaden, 1958, no. 38, illustrated in the catalogue
Wiesbaden, Museum Wiesbaden, Marianne Werefkin, Gemälde und Skizzen, 1980, illustrated in the catalogue

Paper laid down on board; the board is stable and there are no signs of retouching visible under UV light. There are tiny flecks of paint loss throughout the composition, most notably within the dark pigments of the woods in the background and within the skirt of the central figure in the foreground, due to the dry nature of the medium, and which could be consolidated and in-filled. There are areas of paint shrinkage, predominantly to the white pigment, and fine lines of craquelure in places. There is some frame rubbing visible to the lower and right edges and minor spots of paint loss along all four edges. The board is slightly warped at the lower right corner and there are some water marks visible to the centre of the composition which could be reduced by a conservator. There are very light and faint surface scratches in places as well as artist's pinholes visible to both lower corners and to the upper right corner. This work appears to be in overall fairly good condition.
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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."

Painted in 1910, Rythmen depicts the countryside at Murnau, where from 1908 Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter as well as Alexej von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin developed their novel expressive style of painting, marking the beginning of the history of Der Blaue Reiter.

Murnau’s picturesque location set against the impressive mountain range of the Alps, its unique quality of light, and the colourful village houses of the locals enthralled the artists. Inspired also by the most recent French painting — the works of Henri Matisse and the Fauves — the four friends experienced a boost of creative energy, painting views from the village and its surrounding countryside. Russian-born Werefkin was the most important female member of Der Blaue Reiter group, creating a distinctive style by assimilating the 'surface painting' of Paul Gauguin and Louis Anquetin with the ideals of Der Blaue Reiter, which included a desire to express spiritual truths through their art. In the present work, Werefkin uses a simplified rhythmic composition, primitive drawing and flattened colours to transform the simple motif of peasant women into an expressionistic scene which explores deeper issues. The musical reference in the title refers to Der Blaue Reiter’s belief in the strong connection between visual art and music.

Werefkin began her artistic career as a student of IIya Repin, the leading light of the Russian realist school. Following her meeting with Jawlensky in 1892, she left the country in the company of the painter and travelled to Munich. Here Werefkin subordinated her own work to that of Jawlensky for close to a decade, and only began to produce her own Expressionist works in 1906-07. Energetic, intellectual, and talented, she became involved in the raft of artistic associations springing up in Germany at this time, first joining the Neue Künstlervereinigung München (New Association of Artists in Munich, NKVM), before abandoning this to join together with Jawlensky, Kandinsky and Münter's Der Blaue Reiter in 1912.