- 364
Alexej von Jawlensky
Description
- Alexej von Jawlensky
- HYAZINTHE (HYACINTH)
- signed A. Jawlensky (lower left) and signed AJ (lower right)
- oil on canvas
- 48.5 by 39.1cm., 19 1/8 by 15 3/8 in.
Provenance
Private Collection
Frank Brabant, Wiesbaden
Galerie Schwarzer, Dusseldorf
Private Collection (acquired from the above; sale: Christie's, London, 17th October 2000, lot 38)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Literature
Condition
"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."
Catalogue Note
This work was painted in the first stages of Jawlensky's professional life as an artist. He had recently completed his studies at Azbe's painting school in Munich, and remained heavily influenced by his association with the 'Brotherhood of St. Luke', a group of young Russian artists who sought to achieve the Romantic ideal of a union between art and life in their work. At the crux of this union was the desire to create an art which registered the emotional extremes of experience, and for Jawlensky, it was not form but colour that was to be the primary vehicle for articulating these emotions.
The influence of Jawlensky's student ideals are still clearly evident in this work, despite an intervening period, during which he returned to Russia for two years, as well as travelling to Paris and Normandy in 1903 where he took part in the exhibitions of the Munich and Berlin Sezessions. Painted in 1903, the forms of the still life are entirely dictated by colour: the still life is made up of broken, colourful dabs of the brush which appear to float on the surface, illuminated against the black background. The strident brushwork and vibrant colours are indicative of Jawlensky's belief that 'Art is no longer life distilled. It is life itself - wounded, passionate, confused, self-contradictory... The art of the future is an art of emotions' (quoted in Clemens Weiler, Jawlensky Heads, Faces, Meditations, London, 1971, p. 12).