Alexej von Jawlensky

Paul Elnain, Wiesbaden (a gift from the artist on 4th April 1931. Sold: Lempertz, Cologne, 7th & 8th December 1962, lot 288)

Private Collection, U.S.A.

Serge & Vally Sabarsky, New York (acquired by 1982. Sold: Christie's, New York, 9th May 2007, lot 62)

Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

New York, Serge Sabarsky Gallery, Portraits by Alexej Jawlensky, 1982, no. 7

Munich, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus & Baden-Baden, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Alexej Jawlensky, 1983, no. 181, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Vienna, Österreichische Galerie Neues Belvedere; Graz, Kulturhaus & Linz, Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Malerei des Deutschen Expressionismus, 1987-88, illlustrated in colour in the catalogue

Bari, Castello Svevo, Da Kandinsky a Dix. Dipinti dell'Espressionismo Tedesco, 1989, no. 23, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Roslyn Harbor, Nassau County Museum of Art, From Kandinsky to Dix, 1989-90,  illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Itzhak Goldberg, 'L'Icône abstraite dans les séries de Jawlensky', in Revue d'Histoire des Arts, Paris, 1988, fig. 7, illustrated p. 88

Serge Sabarsky (ed.), La Peinture expressionniste allemande, Paris, 1990, illustrated in colour p. 269

Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky & Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Bonn, 1992, vol. II, no. 1294, illustrated in colour p. 445

Angelica Jawlensky-Bianconi, 'Zu "Abstrakter Kopf: Schweigen" von Alexej von Jawlensky', in Meisterwerke I. 9 Gemälde des deutschen Expressionismus, Munich, 1995, pl. 3, illustrated in colour p. 43

The board is stable. Apart from small scattered spots of retouching throughout, most notably in the purple area in the lower right and the pink area in the upper left, and some further small spots of retouching along the black edges, visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration.
"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."

The present work is a highly accomplished example of Jawlensky’s series of works titled Abstrakter Kopf, displaying a delicately balanced composition and a rich palette. By employing anonymous portraits to express the power and impact of colour and line, 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, Jawlensky Heads, Faces, Meditations, London, 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).