Alexej von Jawlensky

Private Collection, New York
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, March 26, 1981, lot 34 
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky & Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, 1890-1914, London, 1991, vol. I, no. 400, illustrated p. 321

Very good condition. Surface is slightly dirty. A few minor tiny losses near upper edge and in pink near lower left center. A few minor nikcs in the board. Under UV light, no apparent inpainting.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Painted circa 1911, Helene mit offenem Haar is a striking example of the many portraits which Alexej von Jawlensky pained of Helene Neznakomova, a Russian girl who worked as a housemaid for Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin when they were living in Munich and Murnau. Jawlensky eventually started an affair with Helene, with whom he had a son, Andreas, born in 1902. Helene, Werefkin and Jawlensky lived together in the same household until 1921 when the couple officially separated.

Characterised by its bold painterly style, the present work marks a decisive phase in the artist's development. During the years preceding World War I, a shift occurred in the themes which dominate Jawlensky's oeuvre. Until then, landscapes, still lifes and portraits had played an equal role; but from 1911, the human face emerges as the dominant motif and would remain as such throughout the rest of the artist's career.

Helene mit offenem Haar demonstrates Jawlensky's reliance upon color as a means of expressing the complex emotions of his subjects. This artistic approach derives from the examples of the Fauve painters working in France. Jawlensky exhibited with these artists, including Matisse and Van Dongen, at the Salon d'Automne of 1905 in Paris. In line with Fauve principles, the artist remarked 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, Alexej Jawlensky. Köpfe, Gesichter, Meditationen, Hanau, 1971, p. 12).

Fig. 1, Alexej von Jawlensky with Helene, Munich, 1920