Alexej Von Jawlensky

Lot Description Alexej Von Jawlensky (1864-1941) Méditation: Harmonie rouge signed with initials 'A.j.' (lower left) and dated '34' (lower right) oil on linen-finish paper laid down on card 7 x 4 7/8 in. (17.7 x 12.5 cm.) Painted in 1934 Provenance Estate of the artist. Galerie Jacques Fricker, Paris (by 1956). Charles Z. Offin, New York. Bequest from the above to the present owner, 1989. Pre-Lot Text Property from The City College of New York on Behalf of The City University of New York Literature C. Weiler, Alexej Jawlensky, Cologne, 1959, p. 256, no. 408 (illustrated, p. 209). M. Jawlensky, L. Pieroni-Jawlensky and A. Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, London, 1993, vol. 3, p. 78, no. 1543 (illustrated). Exhibited Paris, Galerie Jacques Fricker, Jawlensky, 1956, no. 32.

Lot Description Alexej Von Jawlensky (1864-1941) Akt im Sessel signed with initials 'AJ.' (lower right) pencil on paper laid down on paper 13 1/8 x 8 3/8 in. (33.4 x 21.5 cm.) Drawn circa 1912 Provenance Anon. sale, Galerie Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, 20 May 1969, lot 637. Acquired by the present owner in the 1970s. Pre-Lot Text PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION Literature M. Jawlensky, L. Pieroni-Jawlensky and A. Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue Raisonné, The Watercolors and Drawings, London, 1998, vol. IV, p. 72, no. 131 (illustrated, p. 75).

LOT 432 PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA ALEXEJ VON JAWLENSKY 1864-1941 SITZENDER HALBAKT GENEIGT MIT LANGEN HAAREN (HALF-NUDE FIGURE WITH LONG HAIR SITTING BENT) Oil on linen-finish paper mounted on board 15 3/4 by 11 1/2 in. 40 by 29.2 cm Painted circa 1910.

Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941) Bretonische Bäuerin signed 'A.Jawlensky' (lower right) oil on board 19½ x 20 7/8 in. (49.2 x 53.1 cm.) Painted circa 1905 The artist's studio. Ferdinand Holzrichter, Barmen, by whom acquired at the 1911 Kunstverein Barmen exhibition, and thence by decent to the present owner. PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION The artist's photo-archive (titled 'Bucklige'). M. Jawlensky, L. Pieroni-Jawlensky & A. Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, vol. I, 1890-1914, London, 1992, no. 86, p. 84 (illustrated p. 110, verso illustrated p. 84). St. Petersburg, Wreath, organised by Serge Diaghilev, April 1908, probably no. 178 (titled 'Die Bucklige'). Barmen, Kunstverein, Jawlensky, September 1911. Munich, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Alexander Sacharoff, November - December 1964, no. 19. Frankfurt, Kunstkabinett, 20 Jahre Frankfurter Kunstkabinett, 1967, no. 4 (illustrated). Wuppertal, Von der Heydt-Museum, Der expressionistische Impuls: Meisterwerke aus Wuppertals grossen Privatsammlungen, February - March 2008. In 1905, Jawlensky spent his summer in part in Brittany, and there executed a number of paintings which revealed the artist embarking on the Fauvist adventure that would lead to his most famous pictorial discoveries. Probably painted during this stay, Bretonische Bäuerin is an intriguing portrait of a Breton peasant woman, revealing the artist's interest in the human face as well as the increasingly bold colourism that was taking hold in his works and which would subsequently lead to his being hailed as one of the key pioneers of Expressionism in his adopted home, Germany. The importance of this painting is reflected in its interesting early exhibition history, not least its inclusion in the 1908 Venok or Wreath exhibition in St. Petersburg which was organised by Sergei Diaghilev and was one of the milestones in the emergence of the Russian avant garde. Jawlensky retained strong links with his homeland until the revolution, as is reflected in this picture's featuring in that show. When exhibited there, it is thought that this picture may have featured under the title Die Bucklige, or the 'hunchback'. This was clearly an important theme for Jawlensky, as he would return to it in 1910, including a picture that he himself considered one of his masterpieces which shares compositional similarities with Bretonische Bäuerin. Ever since he had begun studying art, Jawlensky had taken a keen interest in the avant garde, finding ever more exciting boundaries being tested in Germany and in France. It has even been suggested that it was during the stay in France when he painted Bretonische Bäuerin that he met Henri Matisse for the first time. This was at the high-point of Fauvism, which Matisse had espoused and which would burst into the public consciousness at the Salon d'Automne in Paris that year. A new confidence entered Jawlensky's paintings during this period, resulting in a more fully developed and richer colourism, evidenced here in particular by the background. At the same time, the rich colours and the painting of the chair recall the work and influence of Vincent van Gogh, the forerunner of Expressionism and spiritual godfather of Fauvism. 'My art,' Jawlensky stated, reflecting both the mystical and the colourist aspects of his paintings, 'is simply a meditation or prayer in colour' (Jawlensky, quoted in C. Weiler, Jawlensky: Heads, Faces, Meditations, London, 1971, p. 64). Until about this period, Jawlensky's flirtations with the avant garde had resulted in paintings which often feature an almost Pointillist treatment, whereas now the solid fields of colour are marked by an intensity and boldness that fills them with power, creating a far more striking visual impact, in part following from the conclusions that Cézanne had reached in his still life paintings. It is significant that this period in Jawlensky's career produced many still life images, allowing him to focus on still objects. However, his prevailing interest even in his earliest works had been the face, and this came to the fore in particular during his time in Brittany, as is reflected not only by Bretonische Bäuerin but also by the sketch of a man that is on the reverse. This interest in portraiture would become almost talismanic in Jawlensky's art, as it developed into an almost mystical practice for him to capture human features through increasingly abstracted and stylised means, a unique evolution of the art of the Russian icon with which he had grown up in Russia. Jawlensky's interest in the religious painting of his native country found new permeations, and marked his belief that painting was more than representation, and could also provide a spiritual window for both artist and viewer. This interest is clearly reflected in an early incarnation in the mystic figure of the Bretonische Bäuerin, whose piercing gaze lends her the appearance of a seer.

Alexej Von Jawlensky (1864-1941) Blauer Shawl signed 'a.jawlensky' (lower left); dated and numbered 'N58. 1912.' (on the reverse) oil on board 27 3/8 x 19 7/8 in. (69.5 x 50.5 cm.) Painted in 1912 The artist's studio. Paul Beck, Stuttgart, by whom acquired from the above circa 1940-1941, and thence by descent; their sale, Sotheby's, London, 8 October 2002, lot 7. Acquired at the above sale by the present owner. THE PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTOR The artist's photo-archive (titled 'Spanierin mit blauem schal'). Blätter der Galerie Ferdinand Möller, Berlin, October 1929, vol. 5. C. Weiler, Alexej Jawlensky, Cologne, 1959, no. 163, p. 239 (illustrated; dated '1913'). C. Weiler, Jawlensky: Heads, Faces, Meditations, London, 1970, no. 117, p. 122. M. Jawlensky, L. Pieroni-Jawlensky & A. Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, vol. I, 1890-1914, London, 1991, no. 465, p. 361 (illustrated). Berlin, Galerie Ferdinand Möller, Die Blauen Vier, 1929, no. 51. Baden-Baden, Kurhaus, Gartensaal und Wintergarden, Deutsche Kunst der Gegenwart, October - November 1947, no. 135. Tübingen, Kunstgebäude, Moderne deutsche Kunst, 1947, no. 68. Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie, 1949 (on loan). Bern, Kunsthalle, Alexej von Jawlensky, 1864-1941, May - June 1957, no. 49; this exhibition later travelled to Saarbrücken, Saarlandsmuseum. Stuttgart, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Alexej von Jawlensky, 1864-1941, February - March 1958, no. 53. Villingen-Schwenningen, Stadtbezirk Schwenningen, Beethovenhaus, Alexej von Jawlensky, Ölgemälde und Zeichnungen, November 1972, no. 28. Stuttgart, Staatsgalerie, Neuere Kunst aus württembergischem Privatbesitz: I. Klassische Moderne, April - June 1973, no. 63 (illustrated).