By 1934, arthritis had locked Jawlensky's fingers and elbows. He clamped the brush between both hands, arms outstretched, and painted roughly a thousand small canvases he called Meditations. They are among the most concentrated devotional images in modern art, produced by a man who could barely move.
Key facts
- Lived
- 1864–1941, Russian
- Movement
- Works held in
- 54 museums[1]
Biography
Jawlensky was born in Torzhok, Russia, in 1864, the fifth child of a military family. He trained as an officer in the Imperial Guard before abandoning that career in 1889 to study painting under Ilya Repin in St Petersburg. His patron and companion Marianne von Werefkin, herself a successful painter, financed their move to Munich in 1896. There he met Kandinsky, beginning a friendship that would shape both their careers.
Matisse, Van Gogh and Gauguin all pushed Jawlensky toward bolder colour, but his real catalyst was a trip to Provence in 1905 that convinced him colour could carry spiritual weight without representational accuracy. Back in Munich he produced intense, mask-like portraits: the Mystical Heads (1917 to 1919) and Saviour's Faces (1918 to 1920) drew directly on Russian Orthodox icon traditions from his childhood. He studied theosophy, yoga and Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy, seeking a synthesis of Eastern and Western spiritual practice through paint.
He co-founded the New Munich Artists' Association with Kandinsky and later joined Der Blaue Reiter. In 1924, Emmy Scheyer (whom Jawlensky nicknamed "Galka", Russian for jackdaw) abandoned her own painting career to promote his work in America, forming Die Blaue Vier with Jawlensky, Kandinsky, Klee and Feininger. The First World War had already forced Jawlensky from Germany to Switzerland; he returned to Wiesbaden in 1921 and stayed until his death in 1941, increasingly isolated as the Nazis classified his work as degenerate.
Timeline
- 1864Born in Torzhok, Russia, the fifth child of a military family. At ten, the family moved to Moscow where he first encountered art.
- 1889At 25, began studying at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St Petersburg while fulfilling his military duties. He trained there for seven years.
- 1896At 32, resigned his military commission and moved to Munich with fellow artist Marianne von Werefkin. He studied at Anton Azbe's private school alongside Kandinsky.
- 1909At 45, co-founded the Neue Kunstlervereinigung Munchen (New Artists' Association) in Munich, a precursor to the Blaue Reiter group.
- 1914At 50, expelled from Germany as a Russian national at the outbreak of the First World War. He settled in Switzerland and began his series of "Mystic Heads".
- 1924At 60, founded the Blue Four with Kandinsky, Klee and Feininger in Wiesbaden. The group exhibited jointly in Germany and the United States.
- 1929At 65, began suffering from progressive arthritis in Wiesbaden that gradually crippled his hands. By 1937 he was forced to stop painting entirely.
- 1941Died in Wiesbaden at 76, having spent his final years dictating memoirs and reflecting on the spiritual dimensions of his art.
Notable Works
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Alexej Von Jawlensky prints
Hand-finished archival prints from Alexej Von Jawlensky's body of work.
Bretonische Bäuerin - Alexej von Jawlensky
From £37.00
Still-life with Jug - Alexej von Jawlensky
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The Old Jew - Alexej von Jawlensky
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Der violette Turban - Alexej von Jawlensky
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Portrait of Alexander Sakharoff - Alexej von Jawlensky
From £37.00
Stilleben mit Weinflasche - Alexej von Jawlensky
From £37.00
Where to See Alexej Von Jawlensky
32 museums worldwide.
-
16 works
Museum Ludwig
Gebäudekomplex der Kölner Philharmonie und des Museum Ludwig, Germany
- 9 works
Wallraf–Richartz Museum
Ungersbau, Germany
Related Artists
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See all Alexej Von Jawlensky prints →Frequently Asked Questions
When was Alexej Von Jawlensky born?
Alexej Von Jawlensky was born in 1864 and died in 1941.What art movement was Alexej Von Jawlensky part of?
Alexej Von Jawlensky was associated with Expressionism.Where can I see Alexej Von Jawlensky's paintings?
Alexej Von Jawlensky's works can be seen in 54 museums worldwide, including Museum Wiesbaden, Lenbachhaus, Museum Ludwig.What is Alexej Von Jawlensky known for?
Alexej Von Jawlensky is known for painting devotional icons of the modern age with a brush clamped between arthritic hands.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Alexej Von Jawlensky.
- [1] museum Milwaukee Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Im Obersteg Foundation collection Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Städel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum National Galleries Scotland Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Germanisches Nationalmuseum Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] academic Alexej von Jawlensky, Young Girl in a Flowered Hat - Smarthistory Used for: stylistic analysis.
- [8] academic Encyclopaedia Britannica, Alexey von Jawlensky | Expressionist, Symbolist, Mysticism Used for: biography.
- [9] book guggenheim-gauguindecorativ00gaug Used for: biography.
- [10] book guggenheim-guhe00solo Used for: biography.
- [11] book Masterpieces of western art : a history of art in 900 individual studies from the Gothic to the present day Used for: biography.
- [12] museum Alexei Jawlensky Used for: museum holdings.
- [13] museum Alexej von Jawlensky - National Gallery of Art Used for: museum holdings.
- [14] museum Alexej von Jawlensky - Variation Used for: museum holdings.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-06-12. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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