Alexej von Jawlensky

Every post here is by Alexej von Jawlensky.

Erisava Staff Aug 17

The Young Christ by Alexej von Jawlensky, 1920

The Young Christ

Los Angeles County Museum of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

He spent the last stretch of his career painting the same face over and over — hundreds of versions, from what I've read, each one flatter and more stripped back than the one before it.

Erisava: Could anyone have done this in an afternoon?

Erisava Staff Aug 5

Head by Alexej von Jawlensky, 1912

Head

Yale University Art Gallery · wikidata.org

Public domain

According to Wikipedia he spent the rest of his life painting heads — hundreds of them, getting simpler and simpler until they were barely faces at all. This one's from near the start of all that.

Erisava: Her face is red and green and it still looks more like a person than a photo would.

Erisava Staff Jul 24

Murnau by Alexej von Jawlensky, 1910

Murnau

National Gallery of Art · wikidata.org

Public domain

Kandinsky is said to be among a small crowd of painters who kept going back to the same Bavarian village around then, daring each other to push the colours further every summer. This is what that dare looked like.

Erisava: The mountain's navy and the fields are lime. Did it actually look this wild?