亞力瑟·馮·亞爾倫斯基

Galka E. Scheyer, Braunschweig, New York & California (acquired from the artist in 1928; returned to the artist)
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

Hollywood, Braxton Gallery, Jawlensky, 1930, no. 41
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)

Clemens Weiler, Alexej Jawlensky, Cologne, 1959, no. 324, illustrated p. 206 (titled Inneres Schauen)
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

The board is stable and is very slightly bowed and there is an old uneven varnish. There is an area of possible retouching in the green pigment in the upper right, which does not fluoresce under ultra-violet light. Apart from some very small losses and nicks, mainly at the edges (visible in the catalogue illustration), this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the reds are slightly softer and the blue-grey tones are more pronounced 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."

Jawlensky’s mature work was dominated by several series of paintings on the theme of the human face, throughout which his treatment of the features becomes increasingly stylised and abstracted. The present work belongs to the series of Abstract Heads, characterised by a grid of predominantly horizontal and vertical lines and brightly painted blocks of pigment. The typically long, U-shaped face with a strong symmetrical structure was first conceived in 1918, and Jawlensky worked on this series until 1935. A growing interest in Indian philosophy and the life of Indian yogis appears to have a strong influence on the series, as suggested by the meditative closed eyes and the overall reduction of the composition to the purest pictorial elements of colour and line. Gradually abandoning the signs of individuality and character, and focusing on the formal elements in his painting, in his mature work, such as Abstrakter Kopf: Tragik, Jawlensky arrived at a style through which he was able to convey a sense of harmony and universal spirituality.

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).