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Alexej
Von Jawlensky

Alexej von Jawlensky, a Russian Expressionist painter, channelled raw emotion into vibrant portraits and landscapes. If you’re looking for original Alexej von Jawlensky prints and editions for sale or would like to sell, request a complimentary valuation and browse our network’s most in-demand works.

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Biography

A key figure in the Expressionist Art movement, Alexej von Jawlensky is renowned for his vivid use of colour and the emotional intensity of his portraits and landscapes. His work is known for its pioneering spirit, contributing to the advancement of Modern Art.

Born in 1864 in Torschok, Russia, Jawlensky exhibited an early affinity for art, a passion that would ultimately guide him to the avant-garde circles of Europe. Initially pursuing a military career, he soon abandoned this path to immerse himself in Munich’s art scene, where he studied under the tuition of the realist painter Anton Ažbe. Here, he met fellow artists Wassily Kandinsky, Marianne von Werefkin, and Gabriele Münter, with whom he would form the progressive New Artists' Association Munich (Neue Künstlervereinigung München).

Marked by a relentless exploration of colour and form, Jawlensky's artistic development was defined by an increased spiritual introspection. His early work was influenced by the Fauves and their bold, non-naturalistic use of colour. However, Jawlensky's distinctive style began to crystallise when he co-founded the Blue Rider (Der Blaue Reiter), alongside Kandinsky and other artists. This group championed a radical approach to art, emphasising the expression of inner feelings over representational accuracy.


Throughout his career, Jawlensky ventured through various phases, each characterised by a stylistic evolution. His landscapes and still lifes burst with vibrant hues and simplified forms, while his series of Abstract Heads and Meditations drew on the emotional resonance of the human face, reflecting the artist’s ongoing interest in the connection between representation and emotion.

During World War I, Jawlensky's work demonstrated a deepening spiritualism. The emotionally led, pared back approach to representation seen in Jawlensky’s Abstract Heads painting series can be felt in Jawlensky's print series. In Köpfe, a 1922 lithograph series, the artist depicts emotional human faces through a simple arrangement of angular lines. The lithography medium lent itself to the poignant simplicity of the subject. These compositions, each containing no more than 18 marks in total, are more concerned with spirituality than with the physicality of the human face. These prints demonstrate the artist’s interest in the connections between the material and the immaterial.

A woman in a wide-brimmed red hat decorated with pink and cobalt flowers, her face framed by a bold pink background. She wears a red dress with a high, white, ruffled neckline. The hat is tilted down slightly to cast her eyes into shadow. The style is simple, with expressive, textured brushstrokes.

Schokko © Alexej Von Jawlensky c.1910

1. £8.4M for Alexej Von Jawlensky's Schokko

Schokko (c.1910), sometimes called Schokko Mit Tellerhut, achieved Jawlensky's current auction record when it sold at Sotheby's London in February 2008 - almost 200% of its £4.4 million sale at Sotheby’s New York in 2003. This vibrant portrait exemplifies Jawlensky's mature style during his crucial Munich period. The subject, a woman adorned with a wide-brimmed hat (rendered in oil on cardboard laid on canvas), showcases his command of bold, unmixed pigments and confident brushwork. The painting's materiality and textured surface amplify the quality of the colours, even more than 100 years on, while its flattened perspective was cause for Jawlensky's artistic breakthrough following his 1905 Paris visit. Its auction success came after an extensive exhibition history, including shows at the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus and Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris.

 A portrait of a woman holding a green fan. Her facial features are enlarged and simplified, and her face is almost a perfect diamond under her multicoloured headdress. She wears a blue dress with a thick pink neckline. Her skin is mostly yellow, with shadows in green and pink. The style is simplified and expressive, prioritising contrasting colours over realism.

Frau Mit Grünem Fächer © Alexej Von Jawlensky 1912

2. £6.0M for Alexej Von Jawlensky's Frau Mit Grünem Fächer

Frau Mit Grünem Fächer (1912) sold at Sotheby's New York in May 2011, demonstrating the enduring appeal of Jawlensky's pre-war portraits. The painting is a particularly striking example of Jawlensky’s approach to colour. The rich purple background against the yellow, pink, and green skin of the woman’s face and neck and the bold blue of her clothes demonstrates the artist’s fondness for complementary colours. The sharp contrast between dark and light is at once three-dimensional and flattened by the geometric facial planes of the subject. The work's history is particularly notable - it was acquired by Emmy "Galka" Scheyer, whose vigorous promotion in America significantly elevated Jawlensky's international profile and helped secure his legacy beyond European circles.

A flamenco dancer in a red dress that fans out to the sides, painted with angular lines. She leans her head down onto her left shoulder, casting half of her face into shadow. She holds a fan across her abdomen. Her skin has a green tinge, with pink cheeks. Her body is simplified into a series of curves and lines, and the colour is added with small, expressive brushstrokes.

Spanische Tänzerin © Alexej Von Jawlensky 1909

3. £5.9M for Alexej Von Jawlensky's Spanische Tänzerin

Spanische Tänzerin (1909) sold at Ketterer Kunst in June 2024, making it the most recent sale on this list and marking Jawlensky's consistently positive market trajectory. This dual-sided masterpiece juxtaposes a flamenco dancer with an abstract Murnau landscape on the reverse, both painted in the same year, showcasing Jawlensky's simultaneous engagement with figurative and more expressive subject matter. The dancer's demure pose is, however, at odds with the fiery performance of flamenco, reflecting Jawlensky’s interest in accurately capturing the range of human emotion. Once part of Josef Gottschalk's avant-garde collection, the work's impressive result reflects its rarity and exceptional provenance. It remains one of only a few examples from this period of Jawlensky’s career that isn’t owned by international museums.

A girl with dark hair tied into a braid over her shoulder. She holds her hands clasped under her cheek and looks to the other side. She wears a dark blue dress with a white collar. Her features are bold and simplified, and her skin is a light shade of green with orange highlights. The colour is applied in rough brushstrokes, so that the cardboard beneath can be seen between them.

Mädchen Mit Zopf © Alexej Von Jawlensky 1910

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