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THE BLUE FOUR
Kandinsky, Jawlensky, Feininger, Klee
9th Mai - 19th July 2014
Lyonel Feininger
"The Anglers (Black Bridge)"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"The Anglers (Black Bridge)"
oil on canvas
1942
43,5 x 58,5 cm / 17 1/8 x 23 in.
signed lower left
signed, dated and titled verso on the stretcher
Hess 418
Provenance
Estate of the artist
Julia Feininger, New York
Marlborough-Gerson Gallery, New York (label)
Private collection, Berlin
Private collection, USA
Exhibited
New York, Museum of Modern Art (label), c. 1955. Three Modern Painters, Feininger,
Hartley, Beckmann.
Art Museum, Pasadena (label); Art Center, Milwaukee; Museum of Modern Art, Baltimore
1966. Lyonel Feininger Memorial Retrospective. No. 52
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts,
Montreal, Canada; Whitney Museum of Ameircan Art, New York; Montreal Museum,
2011/12. Lyonel Feininger. At the Edge of the World.
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2012. Highlights. P.30, col.ill.
Literature
Hess, Hans. Lyonel Feininger. Stuttgart 1959. P. 288, no. 418, ill.
In 1906 Feininger wrote to his future wife Julia in Weimar: "How I am looking forward to
the bridge I can't begin to tell you….and all the rest of Oberweimar, what you are
describing is quite enchanting". Together they scampered off to Oberweimar, arrmed with
folding chairs and sketchbook. Apart from the church, the bridge over the river Ilm
became one of Feininger's favourite motifs.
The number of works with this motif takes second place after Gelmeroda in his works
created in Weimar and its vicinity.
In 1909 he painted the famous "Green Bridge" and in 1916 he again used the motif in
"Green Bridge II". The biggest difference between the versions is in Feininger's discovery of
cubism. Like "The Anglers (Black Bridge)", it is pervaded by a rythmic pattern.
Feininger said that the symbol of the bridge had a special meaning for him even as a child.
The significance became clear to him much later: stability. Thus it was a motif that he took
up again after his return to the United States.
When Feininger left Germany in 1937, he turned his back on the country that had been
his chosen home for five decades. He felt uprooted and was reluctant to choose motifs
from his new surroundings, even though he had been born in the USA. Many of the works
painted in his first years there are nostalgic memories of landscapes that had greatly
influenced him.
Lyonel Feininger
"Nieder-Zimmern"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Nieder-Zimmern"
pen and india ink on paper
July 30, 1920
28 x 31 cm / 11 x 12 1/4 in.
signed lower left, titled 'Nieder=Zimmern' lower center and dated 'Freit. d. 30. Juli 1920'
lower right
With a photo certificate from Achim Moeller, The Lyonel Feininger Project, New York,
dated December 4, 2013, the work is registered there as no. 1241-12-04-13.
Provenance
Julia Feininger (wife of the artist), no. 143
Private collection, Southern Germany
Exhibited
Nationalgalerie im Kronprinzen Palais. Berlin 1931. No 57
Kestnergesellschaft. Hannover 1932. No 60
The village of Niederzimmern lies halfway between Weimar and Erfurt. On his bicycle tours
Feininger, who lived in Weimar at the time, created drawings and paintings in the villages
around Weimar and later made prints of some.
Lyonel Feininger
"Blaue Hügel in Connecticut"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Blaue Hügel in Connecticut"
colour pencil and pencil on paper
July 31, 1938
12,8 x 22,9 cm
dated 'Sun Jy 31 '38' lower right
Provenance
Julia Feininger Estate
Marlborough Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Private collection, Germany
After Feininger had returned to the uSA in 1937, he often spent the summers in Falls
Village, Connecticut, where he and his friend, the artist Albert Bloch rented cottages near
each other. They often met and shared views.
Lyonel Feininger
"Straßenszene"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Straßenszene"
crayon and charcoal on paper
April 25, 1911
16,2 x 20,5 cm / 6 3\8 x 8 in.
insribed lower left,
stamp of the estate lower right
With a photo certificate from Achim Moeller, The Lyonel Feininger Project LLC, New York,
dated June 23, 2008, the work is registered there as no. 232-6-23-08.
Provenance
Studio Carlo Grossetti, Milano
Private Collection, Europe
From April 17 to 26 1911 Feininger visited Weimar with his wife Julia. He created
drawings in Weimar, Oberweimar, Vollersroda, Taubach and Mellingen.
Lyonel Feininger
"Straßenszene"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Straßenszene"
Aquarell und Tusche auf Papier
1952
31,8 x 48,9 cm
signiert und datiert unten links
Provenance
Hirschl & Adler Galleries Inc., New York
ACA Galleries, New York
Southwestern Bell, Houston
Literature
Büche, Wolfgang (Publisher). Lyonel Feininger. Zurück in America. 1937-1956. Munich,
2009. no. 71, p.195, ill.
Lyonel Feininger
"Drei Figuren in Dünenlandschaft"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Drei Figuren in Dünenlandschaft"
watercolor and ink on laid paper
1952
31,3 x 48,4 cm / 12 3/8 x 19 in.
signed lower left and dated lower right
Provenance
Lyonel Feininger
"Paris Facades IV"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Paris Facades IV"
watercolour and ink on paper
1953
48,7 x 31,4 cm / 19 1/4 x 12 3/8 in.
signiert unten links, datiert unten rechts und betitelt unten Mitte
dated May 12, 2011, the work is registered there as no. 469-05-12-11.
Provenance
Private collection, Germany (since the 1960s)
After 50 years, Feininger was forced to return to the USA in 1937. He had only lived there
until he was 16 years old, before his German parents took him to Germany, which he
considered his homeland.
In Paris, at that time the Mecca of artists, he had lived for two years from 1906 on. After
his return to the US, nostalgic and plagued by homesickness, he painted many motifs from
Germany and Europe; it took him a long time to accept and paint the motifs he found
there. The view of the small alley in Paris was created 16 years after his sojourn there, it is
a proof of the deep impression these experiences had made on the artist.
Lyonel Feininger
"7 Manikins"
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"7 Manikins"
Aquarell, Stift und Tinte auf Papier
1954
21,7 x 28,9 cm
signiert und datiert unten links, Nachlaß-Stempel unten rechts
dated June 20, 2010, the work is registered there as no. 330-06-10-10.
Provenance
Julia Feininger Estate
Marlborough Fine Art, London
Private collection, Lower Saxony, Germany
In the 1950s Lyonel Feininger often drew and painted small figures, either rounded or
angular, which he called "Manikins" or "Ghosties". They chase each other across the paper
or just stand around, eye each other suspiciously or communicate - activities, which the
artist expressed very subtly. He often presented members of the family or friends with these
mostly small-format works (the present work is one of the larger ones), which he drew with
Indian ink and then lovingly painted with watercolours, he even created birthday cards with
them.
Lyonel Feininger
"Stadtkirche. Weimar I" (Town church. Weimar I)
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Stadtkirche. Weimar I" (Town church. Weimar I)
charcoal on laid paper
1929
37,5 x 29 cm / 14 7/8 x 11 3/8 in.
signed lower left, dated lower right and titled lower centre
With a photocertificate from T. Lux Feininger, dated February 5, 1992.
Provenance
Andreas Feininger
Helen Serger, La Boetie, New York (label verso)
Literature
Faass, Martin. Feininger im Weimarer Land. Weimar 1999. P. 106, no. 100, ill.
Lyonel Feininger was in Weimar for the first time in 1906; he visited his future wife, Julia
Berg, who was studying there. In her letters, she had enthused about the lovely motifs in
and around the town. After they were married, Feininger regularly stayed in Weimar almost
every year, often with Julia. He worked in a studio in Kurtstrasse 7, which he was renting.
On April 10, 1913, he wrote in a letter to Julia: "Today after lunch I drew the Herder
Church in the rain, the enormous roofs, slate, glistening in the rain and looming
monumentally, appearing like an avalanche, about to tumble on the viewer in the next
moment, a grandiose motif and it will make a picture, I tell you, colossal!" (Explanatory
note: the town church St. Peter and Paul is called Herder church in common parlance).
In 1919, Walter Gropius called Feininger to the Bauhaus in Weimar. From May of that
year, he lived in the Hotel Elephant, alone at first. When the rest of the family arrived in
mid-August, they moved to Gutenbergstrasse 16. Until the Bauhaus moved to Dessau in
1925, the whole family lived in Weimar.
Lyonel Feininger
"Das Boot an der Küste" (The Boat on the Shore)
Lyonel Feininger
1871 - New York - 1956
"Das Boot an der Küste" (The Boat on the Shore)
pencil on paper
15.8.1930
12,5 x 22,5 cm Darstellung / 14 x 22,5 cm Blattgröße / 4 7/8 x 8 7/8 in. image / 5 1/2
x 8 7/8 in. paper
dated '15 8 30' upper right
Two holes are punched into the left side of the paper.
dated October 16, 2013, the work is registered there as no. 1234-10-16-13.
Provenance
Galerie Elfriede Wirnitzer, Baden-Baden
Private collection (acquired from the above in 1977)
Private collection (by descent in the family)
Throughout his life Feininger was interested in ships. He lived with his parents just two
streets away from the New York port in a small German quarter in 53rd Street. In his youth
he loved to hang around the piers and watch the hustle and bustle in the port. He knew all
the large sailing boats and steamers on the East River and the Hudson by name. Ships
excited his imagination. They made distant places reachable, brought back news and
exotic freight and lured him into a world of adventure and exploration. This was why boats
and ships, either departing or arriving, recurred in Feininger's work until the very end of his
life. Even the small rowing boat seems to invite the viewer to push it into the water and go
out to sea in it.
''Dieppe II, Steile Strasse''
''Dieppe II, Steile Strasse''
charcoal on paper
1934
25 x 20 cm Darstellung / 30,5 x 23,5 cm Blatt / 9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. image / 12 x 9 1/4 in.
sheet
signed and dated lower left, titled lower centre
Achim Moeller confirmed the authenticity of the work.
Provenance
Artist's estate
William Slattery Lieberman, Paris
Berggruen & Cie, Paris (until 1974)
Private collection, London
Joseph Wolpe Fine Art, Cape Town
Private collection, Australia
Private collection
Exhibited
Berggruen & Cie, Paris 1974. Feininger, huiles, aquarelles et dessins. Nr 53, ill.
Alexej von Jawlensky
Jawlensky
"Variation: Farbspiel"
Torschok, Russia 1864 - 1941 Wiesbaden
"Variation: Farbspiel"
oil on linen-structured paper on board on cardboard
1918-1919
35,7 x 26,3 cm / 14 x 10 3/8 in.
signed with monogram lower left
Jawlensky 1013
With a photo certificate from the Alexej von Jawlensky-Archiv S.A., Locarno, dated
October 10, 1998.
Provenance
Evelyn S. Mayer, San Francisco (through Galka Scheyer or directly from the artist)
Louise Baer, San Francisco (Cousin of the above)
Private collection, USA (by descent)
Private collection
Exhibited
Kunsthaus, Zürich, Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne; Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck
Museum, Duisburg 2000/01. Jawlensky in der Schweiz 1914-1921. Col. ill. p. 42
Literature
Jawlensky, Maria, Pieroni-Jawlensky, Lucia, Jawlensky-Bianconi, Angelica. Alexej von
Jawlensky. Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Volume II, 1914-1933. London 1992.
No. 1013, col. ill. p. 244
Evelyn S. Mayer (1890-1955) was a long-time friend of Galka Scheyer, collector of
Jawlensky's work and his agent and promoter in the USA. An artist and art professor at the
San Francisco State Teachers College, Mayer was highly influential in exposing the
innovative style and theories of the "Blue Four", as Jawlensky, Klee, Kandinsky and
Feininger called themselves for the US market, to the west coast of the USA. In June 1928,
Scheyer and Mayer travelled to Prague to attend the Sixth International Congress for Art
Education, then continued to Dessau, where they visited the Bauhaus and met both
Kandinsky and Klee. They possibly also visited Jawlensky in Wiesbaden. Kandinsky
described Evelyn S. Mayer as "a distinctive and uncommon type of collector, one who
made sacrifices to purchase art on a meagre salary alone".
Jawlensky
"Mystischer Kopf: Kopf in Blau"
(Mystical head: Head in blue)
"Mystischer Kopf: Kopf in Blau"
(Mystical head: Head in blue)
oil on linen-structured paper on cardboard
1918
36 x 28 cm / 14 1/8 x 11 in.
signed with monogram lower right
verso signed, dated and inscribed Heilandgesichte' (saviour faces)
Jawlensky 987
The artist entered the painting in his work book as '1919 N.3'. However, in the register of
works in the artist's studio, prepared by his assistant Lisa Kümmel between 1937 and 1939
under his guidance, it is listed as ''Nr. 3/1918 Kopf in Blau, auf Karton mit Rahmen,
H.G."(No. 3/1918 Head in Blue, on cardboard with frame, H.G.)
Provenance
Leonard Hutton Galleries, New York (1967)
Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne
Collection Hubertus and Renate Wald, Hamburg (1986)
Private collection
Exhibited
Lenbachhaus, Munich 1964. Jawlensky. No. 104
Galerie Gmurzynska, Köln 1982. Meisterwerke der Moderne. Col. ill. p. 51
Kunstverein, Stuttgart 1986. Künstler in Deutschland 1900 - 1945. Ill. p. 140
Literature
Weiler, Clemens. Alexej Jawlensky. Cologne 1959. No. 244
Kesser, Armin. Alexej von Jawlensky zum 100. Geburtstag. In: Die Kunst und das schöne
Heim. Heft 9. Munich 1964. P. 382, col. ill.
Weiler, Clemens. Köpfe Gesichte Meditationen. Hanau 1970. Werkstattverzeichnis S. 143,
Nr. 142.
Jawlensky. Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Volume II, 1914-1933. London 1992.
No. 987, with col. ill. p. 246
Jawlensky found the perfect expression of religiosity and mysticism in the human face. In
1939 he wrote: "Every artist works in a tradition…I am a native Russian. My Russian soul
was always close to old Russian art, to Russian icons, Byzantine art, the mosaics of
Ravenna, Venice, Rome, and Roman art. All these arts have always caused a holy vibration
in my soul, as I was sensing a deeply spiritual language there. This art was my tradition".
In his Swiss exile, in 1917 Jawlensky meets the young artist Emmy "Galka" Scheyer, who
becomes his agent and main promoter. She is also the model for his series of "Mystical
Heads", which are a great success. It is Galka Scheyer who brings Jawlensky to Wiesbaden.
With his "Mystische Köpfe" Jawlensky enters a new artistic territory. It is the first time in art
history that form and colour are being developed, varied and reduced in such a systematic
fashion. With his "Abstract Heads" the reduction is continued. His main subject is and will
remain the human face. Jawlensky's art is an art of meditation, of transcendence.
"Abstrakter Kopf" (Abstract Head)
"Abstrakter Kopf" (Abstract Head)
oil on canvas on cardboard
c. 1921
34,6 x 24,6 cm / 13 5/8 x 9 5/8 in.
signed with monogram lower left
Jawlensky 1160
Provenance
Private collection, London
Private collection
Exhibited
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2008. Ausgewählte Werke. P. 10, col. ill.
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2010/11. Expressionismus. P.55, col. ill.
Literature
Maria Jawlensky, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky and Angelica Jawlensky Bianconi. Alexej von
Jawlensky. Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Volume II 1914-1933. London 1992.
No. 1160, ill. in colour p. 354
In his series of renderings of the human face Jawlensky was deeply concerned with the
question: What is Humanity? This question of humanity was to him equally a question of
god.
Jawlenksy proceeded like a scientist, examining the expressive qualities of colour in his
series of "Variations". However, in his portrait renderings, Jawlensky concerned himself with
the human face in order to trace the divine within it. The more he eliminated the
individuality of his sitter, the more he came to a formula with which to express common
aspects of the conditio humana, the more he was able to enter into the complex system of
references between Man and the cosmos. By completely renouncing outward likeliness
Jawlensky found references for the truth which he searched for.
"Abstrakter Kopf: Schräge Augen"
(Abstract Head: Slanted Eyes)
"Abstrakter Kopf: Schräge Augen"
(Abstract Head: Slanted Eyes)
oil on linen structured paper
1930
37,7 x 21,1 cm / 14 7/8 x 8 1/4 in.
signed with monogram lower left, dated lower right, again signed, dated, titled and
inscribed 'No. 26' and '167' on the reverse
Jawlensky 1346
Paul Edmund Harnischmacher and his wife Marianne were close personal friends of
Jawlensky in Wiesbaden and bought a large number of works directly from him. After her
husband's death, Marianne Harnischmacher moved to Switzerland, where she continued to
be in close contact with Andreas Jawlensky, the artist's son, and his family.
Provenance
Andreas Jawlensky, Germany (the artist's son)
Paul Edmund Harnischmacher, Wiesbaden (purchased from Andreas Jawlensky on 21
April 1958)
Marianne Harnischmacher, Bremgarten/Bern (by inheritance)
Exhibited
Neues Museum, Wiesbaden 1954. Alexej Jawlensky. No. 70
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2012. Highlights. P. 70 f. , col. ill.
Literature
Weiler, Clemens. Alexej von Jawlensky. Der Maler und Mensch. Wiesbaden 1955. No. 38
Weiler, C. Alexej von Jawlensky. Köln 1959. No. 338, p. 251 with ill.
Weiler, C. Alexej von Jawlensky. Köpfe, Gesichte, Meditationen. Hanau 1970. No. 303
Jawlensky, Maria, Pieroni-Jawlensky, Lucia, Jawlensky, Angelica. Alexej von Jawlensky.
Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Volume Two 1914-1933. London 1992. No.
1346, col. ill. p. 452
In his series of renderings of the human face Jawlensky was deeply concerned with the
question: What is Humanity? This question of humanity was to him equally a question of
god.
Jawlenksy proceeded like a scientist, examining the expressive qualities of colour in his
series of "Variations". However, in his portrait renderings, Jawlensky concerned himself with
the human face in order to trace the divine within it. The more he eliminated the
individuality of his sitter, the more he came to a formula with which to express comon
apects of the conditio humana, the more he was able to enter into the complex system of
references between Man and the cosmos. By completely renouncing outward likeliness
Jawlensky found references for the truth which he searched for.
"Meditation (Gelbe Meditation)"
"Meditation (Gelbe Meditation)"
oil on linen-finish paper on cardboard
1936
20 x 15 cm / 7 7/8 x 5 7/8 in.
signed with monogram lower left and dated '36' lower right
verso signed, dated '1936 V' and inscribed 'N. 31'
Jawlensky 2335
The picture is on a list of works that were sent to Galka Scheyer, dated September 28,
1936.
Provenance
Studio of the artist
Galka Scheyer, Hollywood (1936)
Felix Landau Gallery, Los Angeles
Galerie Thomas, Munich
Exhibited
Nierendorf Gallery, New York 1939. Homage to Jawlensky. A retrospective show 1909 to
1938. No. 91 (label verso)
Pasadena Museum, Pasadena (label verso); Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University,
Waltham MA; Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada; University Art Gallery, University
of California, Berkeley CA; University Art Gallery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque,
NM; Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans 1964 - 1966. Alexej Jawlensky: A
Centennial Exhibition. No. 186
Literature
M. Jawlensky, L. Pieroni-Jawlensky & A. Jawlensky. Alexej von Jawlensky. Catalogue
Raisonné Volume Four, The Watercolours and Drawings 1890-1938 and Addenda to the
Catalogue of the Oil Paintings Vol. III. London 1998. P. 440, no. 2335, ill. p. 439
Jawlensky found the perfect expression of religiosity and mysticism in the human face. He
wrote: "Every artist works in a tradition ... I am a born Russian. The ancient Russian art has
always been close to my Russian soul; the Russian icons, the Byzantine art, the mosaics of
Ravenna, Venice, Rome and the Romanesque art. All these arts have always caused a holy
vibration in my soul, since there I felt a deep spiritual language. This art was my
tradition" … and … "my work is my prayer, but a passionate prayer spoken through
colours".
In his Meditations, spontaneity is combined with accuracy. Yet he did not create them as
altarpieces but as the expression of an ever changing human situation. They represent his
chosen motto: "Art is a desire for God". The Meditations are the crowning achievement of
his life's work.
"Grosses Stilleben" (Large Still Life)
"Grosses Stilleben" (Large Still Life)
oil on cardboard
1936
48,4 x 34 cm / 19 x 13 3/8 in.
signed lower left and dated lower right
verso signed, dated and inscribed "1936 N. St. N. 2"
Jawlensky 2032
Provenance
Private collection, Wiesbaden
Exhibited
Galerie Thomas, Munich 1978.Alexej Jawlensky. No.87
Galerie Thomas, Munich 1980. Die ersten 15 Jahre. No. 104
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2010/11. Expressionismus. S.57, col.ill.
Literature
Jawlensky. Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, Volume III, 1934-1937. London
1993. No. 2032, p. 293, col. ill. p. 301
In his later still-lifes, which Jawlensky painted parallel to his meditations, the same
reduction of colour and form can be observed. In that way he bestows the character of
worship images to his still-lifes.
"Die Fenster im Atelier mit blauer Vase"
"Die Fenster im Atelier mit blauer Vase"
watercolour, pen and brown ink on paper on cardboard
1931
16,2 x 11,5 cm / 6 3/8 x 4 1/2 in.
signed with monogram lower left and dated 'III.31' lower right
Jawlensky 654
Provenance
Lisa Kümmel, Wiesbaden
Galerie Thomas Munich
Exhibited
Galerie Thomas, München 1978. Alexej Jawlensky. No. 57, p.45
Literature
Jawlensky. Catalogue Raisonné of the Watercolours and Drawings, Vol. IV, 1890-1938.
London 1998. No. 654, p. 254, col. ill. p. 250
The delicately coloured watercolour makes the impression of an abstract composition. The
title, in fact tells us that it represents a window in the artist's studio, with a blue vase on the
windowsill. But even then the composition, ingeniously playing with light and shadow, only
becomes recognisable at second or even third glance. The work reveals Jawlensky as a
master of watercolour.
"Head of a baroque sculpture"
"Head of a baroque sculpture"
pencil on tracing paper
14.3.34
14,8 x 10,2 cm / 5 7/8 x 4 in.
signed lower left, dated '14.III.34' lower right
Pasted to the back is a piece of cardboard from the original mat, inscribed by Lisa Kümmel
'ALEXEY V. JAWLENSKY KOPF EINER BAROCKFIGUR MÄRZ 1935' (sic)
Provenance
Lisa Kümmel, Wiesbaden
Galerie Thomas, Munich (1978)
Private collection, Frankfurt (acquired from the above in 1978)
Exhibited
Galerie Thomas, Munich 1978. Alexej Jawlensky - Unbekannte Arbeiten (Unknown works).
Zeichnungen, Aquarelle, Miniaturen, Bilder. P. 69, no. 90 (not ill.)
Jawlensky wrote about himself: "Every artist works in a tradition ... I am a born Russian.
The ancient Russian art has always been close to my Russian soul; the Russian icons, the
Byzantine art, the mosaics of Ravenna, Venice, Rome and the Romanesque art. All these
arts have always caused a holy vibration in my soul, since there I felt a deep spiritual
language. This art was my tradition".
He found the perfect expression of religiosity and mysticism in the human face. Jawlensky
was deeply concerned with the question: What is Humanity? This question of humanity was
to him equally a question of god. Jawlensky concerned himself with the human face in
order to trace the divine within it.
Portfolio "Köpfe" (Heads)
Portfolio "Köpfe" (Heads)
six lithographs on wove paper, with original portfolio
1922
Darstellungsgröße variiert / je 47,5 x 32,5 cm Blattgröße / image size varies / sheet 18
3/4 x 12 7/8 in. each
each folio signed and numbered '77'
edition A: No. 1-20, on 'Kaiserlich Japan' (Imperial Japan paper)
edition B: No. 21-100 on laid paper
Rosenbach 18-23 B
The portfolio was published by the Nassauischer Kunstverein, Neues Museum Wiesbaden.
When Jawlensky, by then branded "degenerate", in 1937 asked the director of the
Wiesbaden Museum for the unsold portfolios still stored there, he was refused. After the
war, the prints were cut up and used as notepads by the Wiesbaden cultural office housed
in the museum (A. Hildebrandt, Über Kunstpolitik, Nassauische Annalen 122, 2011, p.
599).
The following collections own complete portfolios:
Museum Wiesbaden; Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf; The Robert G. Rifkind Collection, Beverly
Hills; Staatliche Kunstammlungen, Dresden
Provenance
Private collection
Literature
Rosenbach, Detlev. Alexej von Jawlensky, Leben und druckgraphisches Werk. Hannover
1985. P. 120 - 131, nos. 18-23, ill.
Jawlensky found the perfect expression of religiosity and mysticism in the human face. In
1939 he wrote: "Every artist works in a tradition…I am a native Russian. My Russian soul
was always close to old Russian art, to Russian icons, Byzantine art, the mosaics of
Ravenna, Venice, Rome, and Roman art. All these arts have always caused a holy vibration
in my soul, as I was sensing a deeply spiritual language there. This art was my tradition".
In 1917, in his Swiss exile, Jawlensky met the young artist Emmy "Galka" Scheyer, who
became his agent and main promoter. Among other exhibitions of Jawlensky's works in
Germany, she organized a very well received exhibition in Wiesbaden, Germany and
encouraged the artist to move there in 1921. Scheyer was also the driving force behind the
decision to create the portfolio of lithographs for the Nassauischer Kunstverein. The art
magazine "Cicerone" pronounced in 1922: "It is a worthy beginning of a series of
portfolios the Nassauische Kunstverein is obviously planning to publish [...]. The six heads
of the portfolio seem to form the apex of his [Jawlensky's] formal intention. There is no dot,
no millimetre in a line, no curve vascillating between too much or too little [...]. Every one
of these folios emanates a perfect harmony which settles on the viewer."
"Kopf (staunend)" (Head, amazed)
"Kopf (staunend)" (Head, amazed)
lithograph on yellowish velin
1922
29,5 x 18,1 cm Darst. / 50 x 39 cm Blatt / 11 5/8 x 7 1/8 in. image / 19 5/8 x 15 3/8 in.
sheet
signed and dated lower left
Rosenbach 29
Provenance
Jawlensky wrote about himself: "Every artist works in a tradition ... I am a born Russian.
The ancient Russian art has always been close to my Russian soul; the Russian icons, the
Byzantine art, the mosaics of Ravenna, Venice, Rome and the Romanesque art. All these
arts have always caused a holy vibration in my soul, since there I felt a deep spiritual
language. This art was my tradition".
He found the perfect expression of religiosity and mysticism in the human face. Jawlensky
was deeply concerned with the question: What is Humanity? This question of humanity was
to him equally a question of god. Jawlensky concerned himself with the human face in
order to trace the divine within it. The more he eliminated the individuality of his sitter, the
more he came to a formula with which to express common aspects of the conditio humana,
the more he was able to enter into the complex system of references between Man and
cosmos. By completely renouncing outward likeness Jawlensky found references for the
truth which he searched for.
Wassily Kandinsky
"Brauner Strahl" (Brown Ray)
Wassily Kandinsky
Moskau 1866 - 1944 Neuilly
"Brauner Strahl" (Brown Ray)
watercolour and Indian ink on paper on cardboard
1924
40,4 x 30,3 cm / 15 7/8 x 11 7/8 in.
signed with monogram and dated lower left
verso on the mount signed, dated, titled and inscribed 'No.124'
Barnett 681
Entered in the artist's handlist of the watercolours as:
' iii 1924, 124, Brauner Strahl'
Provenance
Galka E. Scheyer, Los Angeles (1924-1936)
Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles (1936)
Wiard Ihnen, Los Angeles (1936)
Private collection
Exhibited
The Daniel Gallery, New York 1925. The Blue Four. No. 16 with ill.
The Oakland Art Gallery, Oakland 1926. The Blue Four: Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky,
Paul Klee. No. 12
Los Angeles Museum, Los Angeles 1926. The Blue Four: Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky,
Paul Klee. No. 67
Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles 1936.
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2008. Wassily Kandinsky Aquarelle Watercolours. P. 28-29, col.
ill. p. 27.
Kunstsammlung, Jena 2009. Punkt und Linie zu Fläche - Kandinsky am Bauhaus. No.
II/21, p. 206, col. ill. p. 128.
Museum Voor Schoone Kunsten, Gent 2013. Modernisme. L'art abstrait belge et l'Europe.
P. 317, col ill. p. 121.
Literature
Endicott Barnett, Vivian. Kandinsky : Werkverzeichnis der Aquarelle. Vol. 2, 1922-1944.
Munich 1994. No. 681, p. 99, ill.
In 1924, Kandinsky, Jawlensky, Feininger, and Klee formed The Blue Four that Galka
Scheyer intended to make known in the United States. She wanted to organise exhibitions
and act as an agent in selling works to gallery owners and collectors.
Brown Ray, painted in 1924, was one of the works she took to the US. It hung on the wall
of the Daniel Gallery in Madison Avenue, at the first exhibition of ‘The Blue Four’ in 1925.
Everyone involved was very disappointed that not a single work was sold, so Scheyer
moved to California, where she arranged a number of travelling exhibitions with ‘The Blue
Four’ and, in 1937, a Jawlensky exhibition at Stendhal Gallery. Stendhal sold Brown Ray
to the art director Wiard Ihnen.
The watercolour impressively illustrates the perfect implementation of Kandinsky’s
theoretical writings and is exemplary for the works created during his Bauhaus period.
Wassily Kandinsky
Kandinsky
"Untitled"
Wassily Kandinsky
"Untitled"
Indian ink on paper
1931
18 x 22,5 cm / 7 1/8 x 8 3/4 in.
Barnett 805
Provenance
Private collection
Exhibited
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2010/11. Expressionismus. S.60, col.ill.
Literature
Endicott Barnett, Vivian. Kandinsky: Werkverzeichnis der Zeichnungen. Vol. I. Munich
2006. P. 395, No. 805 with ill.
The drawing was created in the Bauhaus period, between 1922 and 1932. It clearly
exemplifies the compositional principles Kandinsky had developed. “The circle is the
synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a
single form and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms (triangle, square, circle), it
points most clearly to the fourth dimension”.
Wassily Kandinsky
"Chacun pour soi" (Each for Itself)
Wassily Kandinsky
"Chacun pour soi" (Each for Itself)
pen and ink on paper mounted on cardboard
1934
30,48 x 39,69 cm / 12 x 15 5/8 in.
Barnett 945
Signed letter, dated July 31, 2003, from John Berggruen of John
Berggruen Gallery confirms his provenance, as well as that of his
father, Heinz Berggruen.
Provenance
Collection of Heinz Bergguren
John Berggruen Gallery
Private collection, Texas (1989)
Paul Klee
"Coniferen im Park"
Paul Klee
Münchenbuchsee 1879 - 1940 Muralto/Locarno
"Coniferen im Park"
paste colour on 'Ingres' paper
1933
30,5 x 50 cm / 12 x 19 5/8 in.
signed lower right
Klee 6444
With a photo certificate by Josef Helfenstein, Paul-Klee-Stiftung Bern, dated 5 July 1990.
Provenance
Galerie Simon (D.-H. Kahnweiler), Paris (1934 bought from the artist)
The Mayor Gallery, London (ab 1935)
Buchholz Gallery, Curt Valentien, New York
Private Collection, 1944
Private Collection, New York 1973
Private Collection, Germany 1989
Exhibited
Galerie Simon, Paris 1934. 'Paul Klee'
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford 1936. 'Paul Klee'
The London Gallery, London 1939. 'Paul Klee'. No. 10.
Galerie Thomas, Munich 1989. 'Paul Klee'. Colour ill.
Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken 1990. 'Paul Klee'. No. 122 (titled "Koniferenwald" and
dated "1932")
Literature
Schiess, Hans. 'Notes sur Klee. A propos de son exposition à la Galerie Simon'. In: Cahier
d'art. Paris, 1934, No. 5-8, p .178.
London Bulletin, London 1.3.1939, No.11. p.4.
London Bulletin, London 15.3.1939, No.12. p.4.
Huggler, M., "Paul Klee. Die Malerei als Blick in den Kosmos", Frauenfeld/Stuttgart 1969
Paul Klee - Stiftung Bern, 1999 "Paul Klee, Catalogue Raisonné, vol. VI, p. 473, no. 6444,
ill.
When looking at the works of 1933, the year Klee left Germany because of the
defamation, a new technique stands out which he adopted extensively (starting with no.
259 in his list of works of that year, no. 6305 in vol.6 of the catalogue raisonné). He used
a thick paint, mixed with library paste and sometimes adding whiting to make it even
thicker, into which he worked shapes and lines with a palette knife. The desired result is a
certain degree of three-dimensionality. Common to all of Klee's works, independent of
their themes and motifs, is a particular sense of rhythm that enhances their liveliness. Klee's
artistic use of rhythm was carefully trained and deliberate and he taught it in the Bauhaus.
In order to perceive something as rhythmic, a balance has to be set up between a regular
element and irregularities, or, as Klee put it, between 'norm' and 'a-norm', between a
'major' dominant and 'minor' variants. Only through this tension can a repetitive structure
be perceived as rhythmic, 'when the eye brushes past line after line'.
Paul Klee
"Still hot, and appearing strange"
Paul Klee
"Still hot, and appearing strange"
pastel on burlap on canvas
1938
40,5 x 49,5 cm / 16 x 19 1/2 in.
verso attached strip, cut from the original mount, titled, dated and inscribed 'T 10'
Klee 7512
Provenance
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (until 1966)
Exhibited
Galerie Beyeler, Basel 1963. Klee. No. 62, col. ill.
Galerie Beyeler, Basel 1965. Klee. Spätwerke (late works). No. 23, col. ill.
Literature
Paul Klee - Stiftung Bern, 2003. Paul Klee, Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 7. Bern, 2003. No.
7512, p. 457, ill.
After Klee had emigrated to Bern, Switzerland in1934, due to the mounting pressure on
artists in Germany, he soon received another blow: he had sclerodermia, an incurable
illness which restricts movement - of the hands as well as the other limbs. But Klee soon
reacted to this diagnosis with an increased artistic output. In 1938 he created 489 works,
1253 works in 1939.
He broke up the strict rhythms which had dominated his works until then and set carefully
balanced shapes against each other. Klee returned to the beginnings, he reduced the
representation to the essential and somewhat blurred the contours. He also used the
characteristic of burlap to soak up colour, by applying more or less paint, leaving the
fabric more or less visible. The shapes are cut off by the edge of the fabric, the colouring
gives the whole a "nightly" impression. The title - humorous as always - is not easily related
to the picture, making it even more mysterious.
Paul Klee
"The Singer L. as Fiordiligi"
Paul Klee
"The Singer L. as Fiordiligi"
mixed media on newsprint on original cardboard
1923
50 x 33,5 cm / 19 5/8 x 13 1/8 in.
signed lower centre
dated, titled and numbered '39' on the cardboard lower centre
Klee 3132
The artist used the following techniques:
oil trace and watercolour on chalk-primed ground on newsprint, bordered with
watercolour, pen and ink, lower edge with watercolour and pen and ink on cardboard.
Provenance
Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar (1923-1930)
Lily Klee, Bern (1940-1946)
Klee-Society, Bern (1946-1947)
Roger Senhouse, Cockermouth (ab 1947)
Lea Jaray, London
Marlborough Fine Art Ltd., London (1964)
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (1964)
Norman Granz and Heinz Berggruen, London/Breganzona/Beverly Hills/Geneva (since
1964)
Kobayashi, Tokyo (since 1989)
Wanibuchi Collection, Tokyo (until 1999)
Private collection
Exhibited
Staatliches Bauhaus Dessau. 1931.
The Tate Gallery in the National Gallery. London 1945/1946. Paul Klee 1879-1940. No.
65
Castle Museum, Norwich; Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield; Hanley Public Museum and Art
Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent; Art Gallery and Industrial Museum, Aberdeen; Bluecoat
Chambers, Liverpool; City Art Gallery, Manchester 1946. Paul Klee 1879-1940. No. 22
Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris 1969/1970. Paul Klee. No. 60, with ill.
Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya; The Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art;
Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo 1993. Paul Klee Retrospektive. No. 121, with col. ill.
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf 2001. Paul Klee, Kleinode - Die
Sammlung. Unpaginated, col.ill.
Galerie Thomas, Munich 2010/11. Expressionismus. P.16, col.ill.
Literature
Grohmann, Will. Paul Klee. Geneva/Stuttgart 1954. P. 47 and 223
Grohmann, Will. Der Maler Paul Klee. Cologne 1966. P. 24 and 92, with col. ill.
Kröll, Christina. Die Bildtitel Paul Klees - Eine Studie zur Beziehung von Bild und Sprache
in der Kunst des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. Diss. Bonn 1968. P. 36
Geelhaar, Christian. Paul Klee und das Bauhaus. Cologne 1972. P. 86, with ill.
Haxthausen, Charles Werner. Paul Klee - The Formative Years. Diss. Ann Arbor/London
1976. P. 13
Plant, Margaret. Paul Klee - Figures and Faces. London 1978. P. 107, with ill.
Laude, Jean. Paul Klee: lettres, 'écriture', signes. In: Écritures. Systèmes idéographiques et
pratiques expressives. Actes du colloque international de l'Université Paris-VII. P. 349-403.
Paris 1982. P. 360
Aichele, Porter K. Pauls Klee's Operatic Themes and Variations. In: The Art Bulletin, Vol.
68, No. 3rd of September 1986. P. 450-466. P. 458 f.
Naubert-Riser, Constance. Klee. Paris 1988. P. 68
Comte, Philippe. Paul Klee. Paris 1989. P. 104, with ill.
Fondation Beyeler Riehen. München/New York 1997. P. 156
Bothe, Rolf. Paul Klee und Lyonel Feininger in den Ausstellungen der Weimarer
Kunstsammlungen von 1920 bis 1930. In: Ausstellungskatalog Aufstieg und Fall der
Moderne. Weimar 1999. P. 274-281
Klingsöhr-Leroy, Cathrin. Paul Klee in der Pinakothek der Moderne. Bestandskataloge
(collection catalogues), Vol. 2. Munich 1999. P. 134, 141, with col. ill.
Paul Klee - Stiftung Bern, 2000. Paul Klee, Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 4. Bern, 2000. No.
3132, p. 49, ill.
Besides painting, music was Klee's other great passion. He played the violin, wrote reviews
and in music found inspiration for his own artistic creations. Opera was his declared
favourite, Mozart his preferred composer. Thus many characters from operas found their
way into Klee's art, especially the many-facetted ones from Mozart's "Così fan tutte"
fascinated the artist. He devoted several works to Fiordiligi and not only sought to fathom
the personality of the revered singer "L." (presumably Lily Lehmann), but also her
metamorphosis via costume and make up. Will Grohmann chose an image of the present
work to illustrate his early Klee monography and described it as "one of Klee's most famous
theatrical figures".
Paul Klee
"Old Trees"
Paul Klee
"Old Trees"
watercolour, wax crayon, oil on paper on original cardboard
1931
31 x 45,6 cm Papier / 40,5 x 51,5 cm Original-Karton
signed upper right (faded)
dated, titled and inscribed 'M4' on the cardboard mount lower centre and 'S.Cl'
(SonderClasse - Special Class) lower left
Klee 5469
Klee usually inscribed and signed his works with normal ink, which is not lightfast. The
inscriptions have often almost or completely faded and signatures mentioned in the
catalogue raisonné are no longer visible. The present work was signed on the upper right
by the artist, the signature is hardly discernible.
The work is inscribed 'S.Cl' . This stands for "SonderClasse" (Special Class), which Klee
used to denote his best works.
Provenance
Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, auction May 1961, no. 245 (col. ill.)
Galerie Beyeler, Basel (until 1969)
Private collection (acquired in the 1970s)
Private collection, Germany (by descent in the family)
Exhibited
Galerie Beyeler, Basel 1963. Klee. No. 40, ill.
Galerie René Ziegler, Zurich 1963. Paul Klee. No. 28
Galerie Tarica, Paris 1963. Paul Klee. Ill.
Galleria Castelnuovo, Ascona 1964. Paul Klee. Oil, Watercolour, Drawings. Ill.
Kunsthalle, Basel 1967. Paul Klee 1879-1940 Comprehensive Exhibition. No. 124
Galleria del Millione, Mailand 1968/69. Paul Klee. No. 33, ill.
Literature
Jürg Spiller (ed.). Paul Klee Notebooks. Vol. 2: The Nature of Nature. London 1973. Ill. p.
76
Paul Klee - Stiftung. Paul Klee, Catalogue Raisonné, Vol. VI, 1931-1933. Berne 2002. P.
61, no. 5469, ill.
The work belongs to a group which Klee called "divisionist". He developed this technique
from 1930 on, at the Bauhaus in Dessau. The artist was inspired by van Gogh and Seurat
to assemble the image from dots and short brush strokes.
In April of 1931 Klee left the Bauhaus, he had been offered a professorship at the
Düsseldorf Academy of Art. He used the divisionist manner of painting until 1933. That
was the year that brought a sharp break in his life and work. The Klee's house was
searched and under pressure from the National Socialists, Klee was dismissed from his
teaching post in Düsseldorf. Shortly before the family emigrated to Switzerland, they spent
a month at the French Riviera and Klee made an exclusive contract with Kahnweiler. In
Berne he began a new chapter in his oeuvre.
Paul Klee
''Noch gefährlich''
Paul Klee
''Noch gefährlich''
ink on paper on artist board
1927
23,5 x 29 cm / 9 1/4 x 11 3/8 in.
signed middle upper left
dated, titled and inscribed on the artist board "1927 Ae 10 noch gefährlich !"
Klee 4484
Exhibited
Galerie Jan Krugier, New York 1998. Traces of Memory, Nr 20, ill.
(Galerie Krugier, Geneva 1998 - 1999)
Galleria Contemporaneo, Venise - Mestre 2000-2001. Paul Klee - Opere su Carta.
Paul Klee
"Mädchen unter der Sonne"
Paul Klee
"Mädchen unter der Sonne"
ink on paper on cardbord
1929
33 x 16,5 cm / 13 x 6 1/2 in.
signed lower right, dated and inscribed lower middle '1929 O.9. Mädchen unter der
Sonne'
Klee 4815
Provenance
Curt Valentin, Berlin/New York
Frederick C. Shang, South Northwalk/New York
Frank Perls Gallery, Los Angeles
Arnold H. Maremont, Winnettka/Chicago
Galerie Beyerle, Basel (1969)
Galerie Riehentor, Basel (1969-1973)
Private Collection, Schwitzerland
Exhibited
A.P.I.A.W., Section de Liège, Liège, September 1947 - July 1948. Paul Klee. Eaux-Fortes.
Man Ray.
Haus der Kunst Munich, October 1970 - January 1971. Paul Klee 1879-1940.
Museo d'Arte Lugano. 2013. Paul Klee - Fausto Melotti.
Literature
Will Grohamm, 1934. Paul Klee. Handzeichnungen 1921-1939. Potsdam, Berlin, 1934,
no. 20, p.12, ill.
A.P.I.A.W. Paul Klee. Eaux-Fortes. Man Ray. Abstactions 1926. Liège, 1948. no. 52
Haus der Kunst München, 1970. Paul Klee 1879 -1940. Munich, 1970. no. 361
Mark Rosenthal. Paul Klee's 'Tightropewalker'. An exercise in Balance. Arts Magazine,
1878. volume 53. p.106-111
Shelly Cordulack. Navigatin Klee. Pantheon, 1998. volume 56. p. 141-153
Paul Klee - Stiftung Bern, 2001. Paul Klee, Catalogue Raisonné, volume 5. Bern, 2001.
no. 4815

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