As part of Alexej von Jawlensky’s notable series of the “Abstract Heads,” our painting “Abstrakter Kopf: Tragische Maske” (Abstract Head: Tragic Mask, 1932) evokes a particularly harmonious, an almost meditative and soothing feeling. With a palette of earthy, warm tones and the restrained visual language characteristic of this series, the painting draws the viewer’s attention to its structure and form. The brown, gray, and ochre tones, highlighted by a few touches of yellow and green, allow the viewer's eye to fully appreciate the brushwork—its dabbing, pulsating application, and the effect it creates. Jawlensky's deliberate aesthetic decision breaks up the otherwise dense color field. Despite the closed eyes, this complex technique creates a physical presence that captivates the observer.

Starting around 1920, Jawlensky began to explore the motif of the face with increasing intensity and in ever more abstract forms. While humanistic, naturalistic features can still be recognized in the Saviour Faces series, the artist condenses form and color into an autonomous force in his Abstract Heads. Individuality recedes to make way for a timeless, inner visual idea. Anatomical features are transformed into geometric forms and symmetrically arranged, even reminiscent of architecture. The present artwork is centered on a vertical line placed in the middle, which Jawlensky suggests as a nose. The artist constructs the mouth from horizontal lines and a crescent shape; eyes and eyebrows are replaced by horizontal and slightly diagonal lines.

“Tragic Mask,” the subtitle of our painting, invites us to take a deeper psychological look at the work, one that connects to Jawlensky’s personal situation, his deteriorating health, and the political uncertainty in Germany in the early 1930s. Art became increasingly politicized and exploited for agitational purposes. In this context, Expressionism, Abstraction, and New Objectivity in particular were denounced as “degenerate,” and everything Russian was defamed as “Bolshevik.” Furthermore, Jawlensky was repeatedly confined to bed and often spent extended periods at health resorts. These circumstances took a heavy toll on the artist, who lived a relatively secluded life in his Wiesbaden apartment. Despite this financially and physically strenuous period, the response to his “Abstract Heads”—especially among his fellow artists—was extremely positive, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Kandinsky acquired one copy, while Paul Klee acquired two of the Abstract Heads. [MH]