Blumenstilleben (Still Life with Flowers) by Alexej von Jawlensky

Alexej von Jawlensky
Russian | 1864-1941

Blumenstilleben (Still Life with Flowers)

Signed ‘a. jawlensky.’ (lower right)
Oil on canvas board

This stunning floral still life is the work of esteemed Expressionist artist Alexej von Jawlensky. Fondly regarded as the “Russian Matisse,” Jawlensky’s Blumenstilleben (Still Life with Flowers) showcases his well-earned legacy as one of the world's most important 20th-century artists. A symphony of shapes and hues, this composition captures a seemingly quiet interior scene bursting with life. Punctuated by vibrant flowers blooming from a vase and a blossoming house plant, the still-life teems with energy. Jawlensky achieves a three-dimensional texture by applying opaque paint with bold brushstrokes that contrast the composition's flattened planes. The fiery hues of the table juxtaposed with the cool tones of the wall create a mesmerizing visual dichotomy. While the bold contrasts of shape and color and flatness and texture certainly conjure a connection to Matisse, Jawlensky’s bold originality shines through and this composition demonstrates why he is highly esteemed in his own right.

Interestingly, this exquisite composition features a unique surprise. The ever-creative Jawlensky includes a highly abstracted landscape sketch-like painting on the back of this composition. While the composition on the front makes a great effort to delineate specific shapes to achieve its enchanting visual effect, the composition on the back showcases an unbridled, Expressionist counterpoint, demonstrating the sheer breadth of Jawlensky's creativity and artistic prowess.

Alexej von Jawlensky was born in 1864 and studied at the famed St. Petersburg Academy. Throughout his prolific career, his style evolved from working with lush colors to dabbling with abstraction and he later fully embraced Expressionism through his friendships with Henri Matisse and Emile Nolde. Jawlensky also played an important role in the development of the Blue Rider movement and the careers of other artists including Kandinsky and Münter. As a key figure in the Expressionist movement, Jawlensky’s works are highly sought after by private collectors and museums alike. His work is currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California and the Museum Wiesbaden in Germany, which has Europe's largest and most important Jawlensky collection. Blumenstilleben was exhibited at the Locarno Museum in Switzerland’s 1989 exhibition Alexej von Jawlensky, Milan’s Palazzo Reale’s 1995 exhibition Alexej von Jawlensky and Städtische Galerie’s 1998-1999 exhibition Deutsche Künstlerkolonien (German Artists' Colonies) 1890-1910. 

Painted 1908

Canvas board: 21 1/2" high by 19 1/2" wide
Frame: 30 7/8" high by 29 1/2" wide

Exhibited:
Locarno, Pinacoteca Communale, Casa Rusca, Alexej Jawlensky, September – November 1989, no. 22, p. 43 (illustrated in color)
Bietigheim-Bissingen, Städtische Galerie, Alexej von Jawlensky, July – September 1994, no. 12, p. 64 (illustrated in color)
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Alexej von Jawlensky, April – June 1995, no. 16, p. 63 (illustrated in color)
Karlsruhe, Städtische Galerie, Deutsche Künstlerkolonien 1890-1910, September 1998 – January 1999, p. 330 (illustrated in color)

References:
M. Jawlensky, L. Pieroni-Jawlensky and A. Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, 1890-1914, vol. I, London, 1991, no. 231, p. 191 (illustrated in color p. 196)
Alexej von Jawlensky-Archiv AG, Forschungsbeiträge zu Leben und Werk Alexej von Jawlenskys, Locarno, Switzerland, 2009, vol. III, no. 231, pp. 59-60 (verso illustrated in color p. 59)

Provenance:
Wengernalp-Jungfraubahnen [Wengernalp Railway], Interlaken, by the 1930s
Sale, Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, 22 June 2001, lot 61
Private Collection, New York
M.S. Rau, New Orleans