ALEXEJ VON JAWLENSKY | Häuser mit Vorgärten (Houses with Front Gardens)

Private Collection
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired by 1957)
Sale: Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne, 8-9th December 1965, lot 420
Sale: Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg, June 1968, lot 594
Ernesto F. Blohm, Germany (purchased at the above sale)
Thence by descent to the present owner in 1986

Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Alexej von Jawlensky, 1957, no. 17, illustrated in the catalogue
Bremen, Kunsthalle, Alexej von Jawlensky, 1957-58, no. 9, illustrated in the catalogue
Bern, Kunsthalle (& travelling in Germany), Hanna Bekker vom Rath, Frankfurter Kunstkabinett 1947-57. Zehn-Jahres-Ausstellung, 1957-58, no. 11, illustrated in the catalogue
Stuttgart, Württembergischer Kunstverein & Mannheim, Städtische Kunsthalle, Jawlensky, 1958, no. 11, illustrated in the catalogue
Los Angeles, Stephen Silagy Galleries, Alexej von Jawlensky, 1958, no. 13 illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Les Fauves, 1959, no. 32
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Les Fauves, 1962, no. 66
The Pasadena Art Museum, Alexej Jawlensky, A Centennial Exhibition, 1964, no. 9

Clemens Weiler, Alexej Jawlensky, Cologne, 1959, no. 524
Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky & Angelica Jawlensky (eds.), Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue raisonné of the Oil Paintings, London, 1991, vol. I, no. 198, illustrated p. 168

The board is stable. UV light examination reveals a spot of retouching (approx. 1cm. wide) to the centre of the fence at the lower part of the composition. There is some general abrasion to the extreme edges from handling and possibly previous framing. Otherwise, the colours are bright and fresh and this work is in overall very good 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."

Häuser mit Vorgärten, painted by in 1908, offers a colourful vision of Murnau, the picturesque Bavarian village where Jawlensky was to paint alongside Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter and Marianne Werefkin. Jawlensky captures the vibrant houses by using an atmospheric palette of blues and greens, imbued with the gentle fading light of evening. Here, as Karel Schampers writes, ‘Colours and forms gradually became independent: forms were simplified and stripped of their specific details, becoming reduced to elementary, autonomous shapes; the colours, even the simplest tones, acquired a greater expression and intensity, yielding a lucid, pictorial structure.’ (Alexei von Jawlensky (exhibition catalogue), Museum Boymans-van Beunigen Rotterdam, 1994, p. 10). Jawlensky’s reliance upon colour as a means of visual expression derived from the examples of the Fauvist painters of France.  Jawlensky first met these artists, including Henri Matisse and Kees van Dongen, shortly after the Fauves' first exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1905.  He was inspired by their wild colouration and expressive brushwork, and between 1909-1911 the works of these artists had a profound impact on his painting. 

Jawlensky uses areas of negative space to great effect in the present work, and the cooler, more subdued tones provide a powerful contrast to the warm ochre of the roof in the background. The texture of the grass is created with flecks of brighter and paler greens, where what is central is ‘the autonomous value assigned to colour, which takes precedence over the representational function’ (ibid p21). The colourful village buildings of Murnau and the surrounding landscape inspired and excited this collective of artists. For Jawlensky, this first summer in Murnau proved a significant turning point and heralded a period of great creativity and productivity. Inspired by the avant-garde techniques of the Post-Impressionists and especially the Fauves, to which he had been exposed during his travels through Europe, Jawlensky took the lead in guiding the group's artistic evolution towards an increased abstraction. He began to abandon the ideal of realism for a more expressive style of simplified forms and vibrant colours. Formal composition and colour became central tenets to Jawlensky’s art, allowing narrative references only a marginal role. Jawlensky’s foremost goal became to reduce the picture to its essence and to create a synthesis of the impression of nature and the artist's inner vision.