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Lot Essay
Painted in 1912, at the height of a period of intense creativity for Alexej von Jawlensky, Helene mit offenen Augen depicts the artist’s future wife, Helene Neznakomova, in an intimate personal portrait. Portraiture was a central theme in the artist’s oeuvre, with Jawlensky repeatedly returning to the human face throughout his career. The present work, which emphasises the intense connection between the artist and his sitter, showcases the Jawlensky’s dedication to freeing colour from its descriptive role in painting, whilst still maintaining a strong sense of the individual identity of its subject.
Helene was a figure of great importance in Jawlensky’s life, not only as model and muse, but also as his partner, the mother of his son, and as his care provider in his final years. Jawlensky first met Helene when she was just fourteen years old, while he was visiting the family estate of his companion and mistress, Marianne von Werefkin. The daughter of a merchant family of the Werefkins’ acquaintance, Helene was also staying with the family at the time, and subsequently accompanied Marianne and Jawlensky back to Munich, as Marianne’s personal maid. Jawlensky and Helene soon began a relationship, which grew over a number of years and culminated in the birth of the couple’s son, Andreas, in 1902. For much of their relationship the pair continued to live with Marianne, in a complex ménage a trois. Alexej and Helene finally married in 1922, but only following a decisive split with Werefkin. They would remain together until the artist’s death in 1941.
Helene sat for Jawlensky throughout their relationship, and the artist’s fascination with her is evident in Helene mit offenen Augen. Her head dominates the frame, with the artist adopting an extreme close-up view of his lover. This intimacy is further emphasised by Helene’s unflinching gaze, as she maintains direct eye contact with the viewer. By elongating her eyes, exaggerating their size so that they appear unnaturally large, the artist allows the immediacy of this eye contact between the sitter and her audience to become the central focus of the painting.
Jawlensky’s approach to portraiture at this time was heavily influenced by fauvist art, particularly in its use of vibrant colour. The violet paint used to contour Helene’s face is reminiscent of Henri Matisse’s La Raie Verte (Portrait of Madame Matisse) from 1905, which utilised a striking green pigment in its shadowing of the model’s facial features. In using such non-naturalistic shades in their art, Matisse and Jawlensky both move away from any accurate portrayal of their subjects, searching instead for a way to convey the underlying essence of their sitters’ character. In the case of Jawlensky, he also wished to represent his own subjective view of the sitter, with Helene’s boldly coloured visage capturing the depth and intensity of the artist’s feelings for her. With her large almond shaped, staring eyes and the vivid colouring of her facial features, Jawlensky’s muse captivates contemporary viewers as she once did the artist.
Helene was a figure of great importance in Jawlensky’s life, not only as model and muse, but also as his partner, the mother of his son, and as his care provider in his final years. Jawlensky first met Helene when she was just fourteen years old, while he was visiting the family estate of his companion and mistress, Marianne von Werefkin. The daughter of a merchant family of the Werefkins’ acquaintance, Helene was also staying with the family at the time, and subsequently accompanied Marianne and Jawlensky back to Munich, as Marianne’s personal maid. Jawlensky and Helene soon began a relationship, which grew over a number of years and culminated in the birth of the couple’s son, Andreas, in 1902. For much of their relationship the pair continued to live with Marianne, in a complex ménage a trois. Alexej and Helene finally married in 1922, but only following a decisive split with Werefkin. They would remain together until the artist’s death in 1941.
Helene sat for Jawlensky throughout their relationship, and the artist’s fascination with her is evident in Helene mit offenen Augen. Her head dominates the frame, with the artist adopting an extreme close-up view of his lover. This intimacy is further emphasised by Helene’s unflinching gaze, as she maintains direct eye contact with the viewer. By elongating her eyes, exaggerating their size so that they appear unnaturally large, the artist allows the immediacy of this eye contact between the sitter and her audience to become the central focus of the painting.
Jawlensky’s approach to portraiture at this time was heavily influenced by fauvist art, particularly in its use of vibrant colour. The violet paint used to contour Helene’s face is reminiscent of Henri Matisse’s La Raie Verte (Portrait of Madame Matisse) from 1905, which utilised a striking green pigment in its shadowing of the model’s facial features. In using such non-naturalistic shades in their art, Matisse and Jawlensky both move away from any accurate portrayal of their subjects, searching instead for a way to convey the underlying essence of their sitters’ character. In the case of Jawlensky, he also wished to represent his own subjective view of the sitter, with Helene’s boldly coloured visage capturing the depth and intensity of the artist’s feelings for her. With her large almond shaped, staring eyes and the vivid colouring of her facial features, Jawlensky’s muse captivates contemporary viewers as she once did the artist.