.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
In 1905, Jawlensky spent his summer in part in Brittany, and there executed a number of paintings which revealed the artist embarking on the Fauvist adventure that would lead to his most famous pictorial discoveries. Probably painted shortly after his stay, Bretonin is an intriguing portrait of a Breton peasant woman, revealing the artist's interest in the human face as well as the increasingly bold colourism that was taking hold in his works and which would subsequently lead to his being hailed as one of the key pioneers of Expressionism in his adopted home, Germany.
Ever since he had begun studying art, Jawlensky had taken a keen interest in the avant garde, finding ever more exciting boundaries being tested in Germany and in France. It has even been suggested that it was during the stay in France when he painted Bretonin that he met Henri Matisse for the first time. This was at the high-point of Fauvism, which Matisse had espoused and which would burst into the public consciousness at the Salon d'Automne in Paris that year. A new confidence entered Jawlensky's paintings during this period, resulting in a more fully developed and richer colourism. 'My art,' Jawlensky stated, reflecting both the mystical and the colourist aspects of his paintings, 'is simply a meditation or prayer in colour' (Jawlensky, quoted in C. Weiler, Jawlensky: Heads, Faces, Meditations, London, 1971, p. 64).
Until about this period, Jawlensky's flirtations with the avant garde had resulted in paintings which often feature an almost Pointillist treatment, still notable here in the face and in the woman's scarf, Elsewhere, in the jacket and background, the brushstrokes are wider and the solid fields of colour are marked by an intensity and boldness that fills them with power, creating a far more striking visual impact, in part following from the conclusions that Cézanne had reached in his still life paintings. It is significant that this period in Jawlensky's career produced many still life images, allowing him to focus on still objects. However, his prevailing interest even in his earliest works had been the face, and this came to the fore in particular during his time in Brittany, as is reflected by Bretonin.
This interest in portraiture would become almost talismanic in Jawlensky's art, as it developed into an almost mystical practice for him to capture human features through increasingly abstracted and stylised means, a unique evolution of the art of the Russian icon with which he had grown up in Russia. Jawlensky's interest in the religious painting of his native country found new permeations, and marked his belief that painting was more than representation, and could also provide a spiritual window for both artist and viewer. This interest is clearly reflected in an early incarnation in the mystic figure of the Bretonin, whose piercing gaze lends her the appearance of a seer.
Christie’s is honoured to present the following selection of works from the collection of the highly respected financier and patron of the arts, Wilhelm Reinold (1895-1979). Assembled over the course of two decades, this diverse collection of paintings and prints stands as a testament not only to Reinold’s discerning eye, but also his deep appreciation for art of the early Twentieth Century.
Although born in Wuppertal, Reinold’s banking career truly flourished in the German city of Hamburg, where he earned a reputation as an astute and intelligent thinker, characteristics which would eventually lead him to become a board member of the city’s commerzbank. While he had maintained a general interest in the arts throughout his life, a gift of a Paul Klee drawing on the occasion of his 65th birthday inspired Reinold to begin a prolific collecting journey that would occupy him throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During this time he amassed an enviable collection of modern art, acquiring vibrant, compelling works from painters as diverse as Marc Chagall and Max Beckmann to Lyonel Feininger and Gabriele Münter. He also developed key friendships with several notable artists, including Oskar Kokoschka, whom he commissioned to create a panoramic view of the Hamburg harbour from a crane of the Stülcken-Werft shipyard in the early 1960s. Alongside his collecting activities he was also a generous patron and philanthropist, donating several important artworks to local museums and galleries in Hamburg, and providing financial assistance to a number of artistic institutions.
While Reinold’s artistic tastes were varied and wide-ranging, several themes appear to have underpinned his collecting habits. For example, he held a particular interest in the art of his homeland, acquiring paintings by many of the leading figures of the German avant-garde during the first half of the twentieth century, including Max Beckmann, Emil Nolde and the Die Brücke artists Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. There is also a strong focus on figurative representation in his acquisitions, while many works appear to have been chosen for their powerfully expressionistic approach to colour. Indeed, the collection is filled with paintings that utilise luminous, vibrant pigments to bring a bold sense of energy and life to their subject matter. Other works offer an insight into the internal battles which occupied their creators during pivotal moments in their careers. Whether in the midst of experimenting with a new painterly style or investigating alternative media, they capture painting in its rawest and most vigorous form, as each artist strives to translate their subjective vision of the world onto their canvases with an intensity and passion that reflects their experiences.
Ever since he had begun studying art, Jawlensky had taken a keen interest in the avant garde, finding ever more exciting boundaries being tested in Germany and in France. It has even been suggested that it was during the stay in France when he painted Bretonin that he met Henri Matisse for the first time. This was at the high-point of Fauvism, which Matisse had espoused and which would burst into the public consciousness at the Salon d'Automne in Paris that year. A new confidence entered Jawlensky's paintings during this period, resulting in a more fully developed and richer colourism. 'My art,' Jawlensky stated, reflecting both the mystical and the colourist aspects of his paintings, 'is simply a meditation or prayer in colour' (Jawlensky, quoted in C. Weiler, Jawlensky: Heads, Faces, Meditations, London, 1971, p. 64).
Until about this period, Jawlensky's flirtations with the avant garde had resulted in paintings which often feature an almost Pointillist treatment, still notable here in the face and in the woman's scarf, Elsewhere, in the jacket and background, the brushstrokes are wider and the solid fields of colour are marked by an intensity and boldness that fills them with power, creating a far more striking visual impact, in part following from the conclusions that Cézanne had reached in his still life paintings. It is significant that this period in Jawlensky's career produced many still life images, allowing him to focus on still objects. However, his prevailing interest even in his earliest works had been the face, and this came to the fore in particular during his time in Brittany, as is reflected by Bretonin.
This interest in portraiture would become almost talismanic in Jawlensky's art, as it developed into an almost mystical practice for him to capture human features through increasingly abstracted and stylised means, a unique evolution of the art of the Russian icon with which he had grown up in Russia. Jawlensky's interest in the religious painting of his native country found new permeations, and marked his belief that painting was more than representation, and could also provide a spiritual window for both artist and viewer. This interest is clearly reflected in an early incarnation in the mystic figure of the Bretonin, whose piercing gaze lends her the appearance of a seer.
Christie’s is honoured to present the following selection of works from the collection of the highly respected financier and patron of the arts, Wilhelm Reinold (1895-1979). Assembled over the course of two decades, this diverse collection of paintings and prints stands as a testament not only to Reinold’s discerning eye, but also his deep appreciation for art of the early Twentieth Century.
Although born in Wuppertal, Reinold’s banking career truly flourished in the German city of Hamburg, where he earned a reputation as an astute and intelligent thinker, characteristics which would eventually lead him to become a board member of the city’s commerzbank. While he had maintained a general interest in the arts throughout his life, a gift of a Paul Klee drawing on the occasion of his 65th birthday inspired Reinold to begin a prolific collecting journey that would occupy him throughout the 1960s and 1970s. During this time he amassed an enviable collection of modern art, acquiring vibrant, compelling works from painters as diverse as Marc Chagall and Max Beckmann to Lyonel Feininger and Gabriele Münter. He also developed key friendships with several notable artists, including Oskar Kokoschka, whom he commissioned to create a panoramic view of the Hamburg harbour from a crane of the Stülcken-Werft shipyard in the early 1960s. Alongside his collecting activities he was also a generous patron and philanthropist, donating several important artworks to local museums and galleries in Hamburg, and providing financial assistance to a number of artistic institutions.
While Reinold’s artistic tastes were varied and wide-ranging, several themes appear to have underpinned his collecting habits. For example, he held a particular interest in the art of his homeland, acquiring paintings by many of the leading figures of the German avant-garde during the first half of the twentieth century, including Max Beckmann, Emil Nolde and the Die Brücke artists Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. There is also a strong focus on figurative representation in his acquisitions, while many works appear to have been chosen for their powerfully expressionistic approach to colour. Indeed, the collection is filled with paintings that utilise luminous, vibrant pigments to bring a bold sense of energy and life to their subject matter. Other works offer an insight into the internal battles which occupied their creators during pivotal moments in their careers. Whether in the midst of experimenting with a new painterly style or investigating alternative media, they capture painting in its rawest and most vigorous form, as each artist strives to translate their subjective vision of the world onto their canvases with an intensity and passion that reflects their experiences.