Jawlensky worked to develop his compositions from within rather than from without. "I am not so much searching for new forms," he said, "but I want to go deeper; not to progress in breadth but in depth." This searching for harmony and perfection reached its final form in 1934 with his series of Meditations. The head is now reduced to its most minimal components. Black lines delineate his framework of nose, mouth, brows, and eyes. This grid floats on a background of densely colored, almost tangible brushstrokes. It has been noted frequently that the black lines of the eyes and nose form the Eastern Orthodox cross. The human face has been condensed into a symbol of universal tragedy.
Details
- Artist Name: Alexei Jawlensky (Russian, 1864-1941)
- Title: Large Meditation No. 15
- Date: 1936
- Medium: Oil on textured wove paper mounted on cardboard
- Dimensions: 9-7/8 x 6-3/4 in. (25.1 x 17.1 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, The Blue Four Galka Scheyer Collection
- Accession Number: P.1954.29.02
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Museum
Object Information
Galka Scheyer;
Auction of Alien Property Custodian, Federal Office Building, San Francisco, 28 September, 1954, lot 1, no. 5;
purchased by;
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena,1954-1975;
Norton Simon Museum, 1975.
Jawlensky exhibition
- Seattle, Cornish School, 1939-03 to 1939-03
My Four Kings: Galka Scheyer and the Blue Four
- Norton Simon Museum, 2002-12-13 to 2003-04-14
Jawlensky and the Serial Image
- Irvine, University of California, University Art Gallery, 1966-03-11 to 1966-03-31
- Riverside, University of California, Art Gallery, 1966-04-04 to 1966-04-30
Alexei Jawlensky (1864-1941)
- Norton Simon Museum, 2007-05-04 to 2007-11-05
Visions and Icons: the Art of Alexei Jawlensky
- Norton Simon Museum, 1990-01-18 to 1991-04-14
Permanent and Loan Collection, 1973
- Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, 1973-01-30 to 1973-12-31
The Blue Four-Galka Scheyer Collection From The Norton Simon Museum
- Henry Art Gallery, 1997-07-17 to 1997-10-05
Bauhaus Painters; Spirit of Modernism: Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitzky, Oskar Schlemmer, Alexander Archipenko, Alexei Jawlensky and Others
- Seoul, Ho-Am Art Museum, 1996-02-08 to 1996-04-28
The Spirit of Modernism: Galka Scheyer in the New World
- Norton Simon Museum, 1994-11-17 to 1996-01-14
- Weiler, Clemens, Alexej Jawlensky: Heads, Faces, Meditations, 1971, no. 1009
- The Blue Four Galka Scheyer Collection, Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 1976, no. 164e pp. 57, 80
- Jawlensky, Maria, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky, and Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, 1934-1937, 1993, no. 2072
- Barnett, Vivian Endicott, The Blue Four Collection at the Norton Simon Museum, 2002, no. 231 p. 200
- Anne Dumas, Jawlensky : La ressemblance, 2017, p. 54 ; p. 55 (ill.)
Additional Artwork by Artist
Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.
Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.
Please allow up to four weeks for your request to be reviewed. Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.