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Lot Essay
In a letter dated 19th February 1923 Galka Scheyer writes to Jawlenskey that Mr. Reh from Dortmund bought the painting Variation sommersegen II.
Jawlensky's series of Variations were begun shortly after his arrival at Saint-Prex in Switzerland, his home for the first years of his exile during the First World War. The paintings, variations on the view from the window of his room depicting the same trees, path and other details with infinite differences, portrayed nuances both of season and of emotion. Jawlensky was refining a form of figurative abstraction, a source of expression using forms and colours almost regardless of the actual view that inspired them. Earlier paintings in the Variation series retain strong figurative elements, for instance fences, however towards the end the paintings appear like a swirling mass of juxtaposed colours with only the slightest concrete links to their landscape origin.
This break with the figurative came in part with Jawlensky's very real break with Saint-Prex - in 1917, he moved to Zurich. Despite this departure from his window, Jawlensky continued painting his Variations. They had become a source of meditation for him. His interest in spirituality had grown hugely during this period, and these paintings in particular harnessed and cultivated his tranquillity. This role continued for some time after leaving Saint-Prex, but the Variations abstraction deepened increasingly. In Variation: Glorreicher Abend - Sommersegen II ('Variation: Glorious Evening - Summer Blessing II'), painted in 1917, Jawlensky's figurative abstract style has reached true fruition. It is no coincidence that it was painted the same year he embarked upon his first Heads series, the Heilandsgesicht and the Mysticher Kopf. In these, the face became what the landscape had formerly been - templates for a raw expression of Nature and the sublime. The timing, however, insists that it was Jawlensky's departure from his window in Saint-Prex that spurred him onto these new developments. Likewise, his renewed exposure to a lively art scene, after years hidden away from society, had a huge impact on his work. At that time, Zurich was home to many of the avant-garde characters who would reshape Western art over the coming decades. Jawlensky was exposed once more to the cutting edge, having left Munich and its vibrant art world years earlier. Interestingly, Variation: Glorreicher Abend - Sommersegen II was painted the year Jawlensky met Hans Arp, one of the greatest proponents of abstraction. Variation: Glorreicher Abend - Sommersegen II is a light and refreshing depiction of the dusk. The dark, fertile green of the trees has the obscured tones of shadow while the sky is translucent, lit up by the fading, sinking sun. This painting combines Jawlensky's path-finding explorations of abstraction with his continued pictorial meditation and spiritual solace. Jawlensky has completely pared down the scene from his window, allowing it to become the mere vehicle for a more profound expression of the sublime, a pioneering paean to the wonders of Nature. A similar work of circa 1917 and entitled Variation: Glanzaccord is in the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California as part of the Milton Wichner Collection.
Jawlensky's series of Variations were begun shortly after his arrival at Saint-Prex in Switzerland, his home for the first years of his exile during the First World War. The paintings, variations on the view from the window of his room depicting the same trees, path and other details with infinite differences, portrayed nuances both of season and of emotion. Jawlensky was refining a form of figurative abstraction, a source of expression using forms and colours almost regardless of the actual view that inspired them. Earlier paintings in the Variation series retain strong figurative elements, for instance fences, however towards the end the paintings appear like a swirling mass of juxtaposed colours with only the slightest concrete links to their landscape origin.
This break with the figurative came in part with Jawlensky's very real break with Saint-Prex - in 1917, he moved to Zurich. Despite this departure from his window, Jawlensky continued painting his Variations. They had become a source of meditation for him. His interest in spirituality had grown hugely during this period, and these paintings in particular harnessed and cultivated his tranquillity. This role continued for some time after leaving Saint-Prex, but the Variations abstraction deepened increasingly. In Variation: Glorreicher Abend - Sommersegen II ('Variation: Glorious Evening - Summer Blessing II'), painted in 1917, Jawlensky's figurative abstract style has reached true fruition. It is no coincidence that it was painted the same year he embarked upon his first Heads series, the Heilandsgesicht and the Mysticher Kopf. In these, the face became what the landscape had formerly been - templates for a raw expression of Nature and the sublime. The timing, however, insists that it was Jawlensky's departure from his window in Saint-Prex that spurred him onto these new developments. Likewise, his renewed exposure to a lively art scene, after years hidden away from society, had a huge impact on his work. At that time, Zurich was home to many of the avant-garde characters who would reshape Western art over the coming decades. Jawlensky was exposed once more to the cutting edge, having left Munich and its vibrant art world years earlier. Interestingly, Variation: Glorreicher Abend - Sommersegen II was painted the year Jawlensky met Hans Arp, one of the greatest proponents of abstraction. Variation: Glorreicher Abend - Sommersegen II is a light and refreshing depiction of the dusk. The dark, fertile green of the trees has the obscured tones of shadow while the sky is translucent, lit up by the fading, sinking sun. This painting combines Jawlensky's path-finding explorations of abstraction with his continued pictorial meditation and spiritual solace. Jawlensky has completely pared down the scene from his window, allowing it to become the mere vehicle for a more profound expression of the sublime, a pioneering paean to the wonders of Nature. A similar work of circa 1917 and entitled Variation: Glanzaccord is in the Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California as part of the Milton Wichner Collection.