1467 - Alexej von Jawlensky (1864, Torschok – 1941, Wiesbaden)

Alexej von Jawlensky (1864, Torschok – 1941, Wiesbaden) Still Life: Two Vases with Tulips Created in 1936, this work is part of a larger group of small-format floral still lifes that Jawlensky produced during those years. With these, Jawlensky ushered in his final major creative phase, alongside his famous “Abstract Heads” and the “Meditations” that emerged from them. While they appeared only sporadically before 1934, they came to occupy a significant portion of his artistic output in the second half of the 1930s. In his floral still lifes, Jawlensky consistently chose vases of flowers standing on the windowsill of his studio as a recurring compositional and thematic motif. This still life is characterized by a vibrant harmony of yellow tulips and dark blue-violet spring flowers in a light blue and orange-red vase against a darker background, flanked on the left by a midnight-blue curtain. Among the stylistic characteristics observable here—as in his “Meditations”—are the predominantly vertical brushstrokes and a significant simplification of forms. Oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard. Signed lower left with the monogram “A. J.”, dated lower right (19)36. Inscribed on the reverse by Lisa Kümmel: “A Jawlensky II 1936 No. 30 St.” 16.6 cm x 12.6 cm. Framed. Lit./Catalog: “Alexeij von Jawlensky, Catalogue raisonné of the oil paintings.” Edited by Maria Jawlensky; Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky and Angelica Jawlensky, Vol. 3 1934–1937, Munich: Beck 1993, no. 1834, p. 198 (with ill.). Lisa Kümmel (1897 Wiesbaden–1944 ibid.), who wrote the inscription on the reverse, was Alexej von Jawlensky’s most important confidante and closest friend during his years in Wiesbaden beginning in 1927. In his memoirs, Jawlensky wrote: “In 1927, I met Lisa Kümmel, an artist with whom I have been very close friends ever since and who helped me organize my work; she also understands my art very well—from my earliest works to my latest—and loves it dearly.” In 1938, she wrote to Emil Nolde about her responsibilities: “I am his friend in the best sense of the word, and I have known him for 12 years; I handle all his written business matters—and now also his personal affairs—take care of his paintings, and see that everything is in order: mounting, waxing, varnishing, etc.” After Jawlensky’s death in 1941, she also took care of his estate. Provenance: Estate of Hildegard Dick, Westerland, Sylt; Auction No. 469 “20th-Century Art. Paintings, Sculptures, Watercolors, Sketches, Prints,” Lempertz, Cologne, June 19–20, 1962, Lot 285, Ill. Plate 33; German private collection; Auction No. 599 “20th-Century Art. Paintings, Sculptures, Watercolors, Drawings, Prints, Illustrated Books, and Portfolios,” Lempertz, Cologne, Dec. 6–7, 1983, Lot 522a, ill. plate 28; Galerie Rosenbach, Hanover 1984, exhibition “Between Tradition and Modernism. Selected Art from Two Centuries,” Galerie Rosenbach catalog No. 26, cat. no. 39, ill. p. 25; acquired from the previous owner by Hildegard Dick. Oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard. Signed with the monogram “A. J.” and dated (19)36. Inscribed on the reverse by his friend and curator Lisa Kümmel: “A Jawlensky II 1936 N. 30 St.”