Alexej von Jawlensky

Private collection, Mainz

Private collection, Schweiz (1970)

Private collection, Berlin

Galerie Thomas, Munich (acquired from the above in 2019)

Acquired in 2024 by the present owner

Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky & Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky. Catalogue Raisonné Volume Four. The Watercolours and Drawings 1890-1938 with addenda to the Catalogue of the Oil Paintings, vol. IV, Munich, 1993, no. 2336, p. 441, illustrated in colour on p. 432

Bietigheim-Bissingen, Städtische Galerie, Alexej von Jawlensky. Gemälde. Aquarelle. Zeichnungen, July - September 1994, no. 70, p. 119, illustrated in colour

• Work from Jawlensky’s iconic Meditationen series, executed during a time of personal and political adversity
• Museum-level quality, with comparable works held in top-tier European institutions
• Iconic motif and mature style, featuring the artist’s signature distilled facial form, embodying the meditative essence that defines Jawlensky’s legacy

Alexej von Jawlensky stands as a key figure in the development of early 20th-century European modernism. A central member of the Munich-based Der Blaue Reiter group alongside Kandinsky and Münter, his work bridges Russian icon painting, German Expressionism, and early abstraction. While his early works show the influence of Matisse and Cézanne, by the 1910s he had developed a unique visual language, rooted in mystical introspection and spiritual form.

By the 1930s, Jawlensky had turned almost exclusively to the theme of the human face. In this time of declining health and political upheaval, the motif became a vehicle for transcendence. The 1930s were a challenging period for the 70-year-old Jawlensky. After the rise of the National Socialist regime in 1933, he was forced into seclusion, with his works being confiscated from museums and condemned in the "Degenerate Art" exhibition. Additionally, he struggled with severe paralysis in his hands and knees, which limited his mobility. Despite these difficulties, Jawlensky continued to paint. The Meditationen series, to which the present work belongs, is among the artist’s final achievements. Each painting functions not as a portrait but as an icon - meditative and timeless.

"The day has a wonderful harmony and there is something deeply mysterious about the nights.”

(quoted in Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky and Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings 1890-1914, vol. I, London, 1991, p. 33).

Executed in 1936, Große Meditation: Bevor es Nacht wird is defined by a symmetrical composition and centralized visage, created with just a few horizontal lines and one vertical line. In this work, the palette is notably darker and more subdued than in earlier series, yet it is enlivened by vibrant accents of deep red and dark blue that create a sense of illumination. The title, Before Night Falls, further reinforces the work’s meditative stillness.

With its refined palette and structured composition, the work reflects key characteristics of Jawlensky’s late style: reduction of form, spiritual focus, and a turn toward introspective imagery. Comparable examples from this period can be found in renowned collections such as the Museum Wiesbaden, the Kunstmuseum Basel, and the Sprengel Museum Hannover.