Early Portraits and the Turning Point of 1914
From the early days of his career, Alexej von Jawlensky devoted his art to three main themes: landscape, still life, and portraiture. He consistently stripped each subject of any extraneous elements. Even his early portraits lack cluttered background details. Everything shown is truly essential; everything characterizes the subject’s personality. Around 1911–12, he created his powerful, expressive portraits, the “Colorful Heads”, in the typical square format, including the “Self-Portrait” from 1912 (Museum Wiesbaden). When World War I broke out in 1914, Jawlensky, as a Russian citizen, was forced to leave Germany within 48 hours. He and his family, along with Marianne von Werefkin, moved to Saint-Prex, a small town on Lake Geneva, and ultimately lived in Switzerland until 1921. The once-close ties to his circle of friends and fellow artists in Munich were beyond reach. This upheaval marked a decisive turning point not only in his personal life but also in his art. Jawlensky wrote in his memoirs: “My soul had been transformed by great suffering, and this required me to find different forms and colors to express what moved my soul.” (A. v. Jawlensky, Lebenserinnerungen, quoted from: C. Weiler, Alexej Jawlensky. Köpfe, Gesichte, Meditationen, Hanau 1970, p. 116) Beginning in 1915, he returned to painting female heads and began work on his famous “Variations”, a series inspired by the view from his window in Saint-Prex. In 1916, he met Emmy (Galka) Scheyer in Lausanne, who would become a close confidante and manager. A portrait of Galka marks the beginning of a dense series of heads. Her black curls and curved nose are frequently reflected in the “Mystical Heads.”

The “Mystical Heads” and “Saviors' Faces”
Just a few years later, another relocation was on the horizon: “We moved to Ascona in early April 1918. The following three years in Ascona were the most interesting of my life. [..] I created many variations there. And then I began painting my “Saviors' Faces” and the “Abstract Heads”. To me, they were heads of saints. When I recall that time now in 1937, at a point where I am ill and over seventy years old, my soul weeps with sorrow and longing." (A. v. Jawlensky, Memoirs, quoted from: ibid., p. 119) In his series “Mystical Heads,” he explored portraiture in depth; in “Saviors' Faces,” he distilled it to its essence, making the portrait a reflection of a hidden inner life.

Personal characterization merges with the artistic quest to explore formal variation. With reduced yet expressively varied lines, Alexej von Jawlensky focuses on the basic forms of the face: eyes, nose, and mouth, framed by U-shaped contour lines. In the early works, the eyes are wide open; in the 1917 paintings, large eyes gaze at the viewer. In 1918, Jawlensky intensified the effect of the “Saviors' Faces” by depicting closed eyes. This introduces a sense of calm and contemplation into the series. Through variations in color and minimal changes in detail, a highly expressive range of moods and expressions emerges. About the “Saviors' Faces”, Tayfun Belgin noted: “[The] title itself alludes to the spiritual dimension of the paintings, in which the focus is no longer on outward radiance and mystery, but rather on an inward retreat.” Pastel tones applied in delicate layers fill the oval face; the soft palette reinforces the impression of contemplation, particularly in those paintings depicting closed eyes. [..] What already appears occasionally in the pre-war heads and in many of the ‘Mystical Heads’—namely, points of light in the center of the forehead, between the eyebrows—becomes all the more evident in this series: Jawlensky's reference to the third eye, which represents a mystical symbol of wisdom in ancient Indian tradition. (Tayfun Belgin, Alexej von Jawlensky: Life and Work, in: Image and Science—Engaging with the Artistic Legacy from Hodler to Jawlensky, Bern 2003, p. 56.) In retrospect, Alexej von Jawlensky explained what motivated him to engage so intensely with the “Saviors' Faces”: “And then I had to find a form for the face, since I had come to understand that great art should be painted only with religious sentiment. And I could only express that through the human face. I understood that the artist had to use his art—through forms and colors—to express what was divine within him.” This idea is summed up best as follows: “That is why the work of art is a visible God, and art is a longing for God.” (Alexej von Jawlensky, quoted from: Exhibition catalog Alexej von Jawlensky, Munich/Baden-Baden 1983, p. 28)

Einkehr (Introspection)
“Einkehr” is a particularly striking painting in this series. A slight tilt dominates the composition. Not only is the head shape fundamentally shifted from the vertical axis, but the nose and mouth also reinforce the impression of a head leaning to one side. Once again, Jawlensky achieves his goal through color, which he applies with a gentle, floating touch. The distinctive turquoise, already used in the famous portrait of the dancer Zakharov (1909, Lenbachhaus, Munich), suggests the flesh tones in subtle gradations with a hint of pink. Luminous dots and lines in black, red, yellow, and green, along with circular areas, frame the face, which has found peace. The closed eyes explain the title “Einkehr.” In a religious sense, introspection is a conscious turn toward God through self-reflection on one's own spirituality.