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. 4
- Date: 1937
- Medium: Oil on canvas mounted on cardboard
- Dimensions: 11-1/2 x 8-3/4 in. (29.2 x 22.2 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, The Blue Four Galka Scheyer Collection
- Accession Number: P.1953.152
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Museum
Object Information
Galka Scheyer;
Pasadena Art Institute, Pasadena, 1953-1954;
Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena,1954-1975;
Norton Simon Museum, 1975.
Jawlensky
- Los Angeles, Stendahl Art Galleries, 1940-05-13 to 1940-06-01
Alexei Jawlensky (1864-1941)
- Norton Simon Museum, 2007-05-04 to 2007-11-05
Selections from the Galka E. Scheyer Blue Four Collection
- Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, 1973-10-02 to 1973-11-18
Selections from Feininger, Jawlensky, Kandinsky, Paul Klee. The Blue Four Galka E. Scheyer Collection
- Seattle Art Museum, 1956-10-10 to 1956-11-04
- Portland, Portland Art Museum, 1956-11-08 to 1956-11-30
- , 1957-01-01 to 1957-01-31
- Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, 1957-03-02 to 1957-04-01
- Kansas City, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, 1957-11-15 to 1957-12-15
- San Francisco Museum of Art, 1958-01-14 to 1958-02-23
- Vancouver Art Gallery, 1956-07 to 1956-08-31
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
The Galka Scheyer Collection: Klee, Nolde, Jawlensky, Moholy-Nagy, Schmidt-Rottluff, Schwitters, Archipenko, Kandinsky, Lissitzky, Feininger, Kirchner, Dix_1
- La Jolla, Art Center in La Jolla, 1960-07-05 to 1960-08-14
My Four Kings: Galka Scheyer and the Blue Four
- Norton Simon Museum, 2002-12-13 to 2003-04-14
Permanent and Loan Collection, 1973
- Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, 1973-01-30 to 1973-12-31
Visions and Icons: the Art of Alexei Jawlensky
- Norton Simon Museum, 1990-01-18 to 1991-04-14
The Blue Four-Galka Scheyer Collection From The Norton Simon Museum
- Henry Art Gallery, 1997-07-17 to 1997-10-05
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. 1044
- The Blue Four Galka Scheyer Collection, Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 1976, no. 165 p. 58
- Jawlensky, Maria, Lucia Pieroni-Jawlensky, and Angelica Jawlensky, Alexej von Jawlensky: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, 1934-1937, 1993, no. 2123
- Barnett, Vivian Endicott, The Blue Four Collection at the Norton Simon Museum, 2002, no. 237 p. 205
Additional Artwork by Artist
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