In 1918, Jawlensky and Werefkin moved with their family to Ascona, in the southern region of Lake Maggiore, for health reasons. It was there that he began his series of “Abstract Heads” (1918–1935), which includes the present work. Three years later, after he had finally separated from Marianne von Werefkin, the artist returned to Germany, settling in Wiesbaden. At that time, many of his works were on display in a major retrospective traveling exhibition in Germany, with stops in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Frankfurt am Main, Munich, and also in Wiesbaden, where the exhibition was met with great enthusiasm.

In his urge to engage in artistic experiments with variations in form and color, Jawlensky discovered his own principles of form design and serial work during these years, which later found their way into the artistic endeavors of many artists, among them Josef Albers and Andy Warhol.
Following on from his “Mystical Heads” and also as a refinement of his “Heilandsgesichter” (Saviour Faces), which were already far removed from portraiture, Jawlensky simplified, abstracted and stylised human facial features even more during these years: he developed an artistic formula for composing pictures, which he brought to life with the help of an almost incomprehensible wealth of colours and transformed into fascinating compositions. Anatomical features are transformed into geometric shapes and arranged in a nearly architectural manner, resulting in a highly reduced head shape: Jawlensky hints at a nose with a vertically placed line in the center.
Around it, there are individual straight, horizontal, and vertical lines, as well as slightly diagonal lines in bold, contrasting, yet harmonious color combinations, which form the forehead and the mouth. In contrast, wavy lines and an extensive semicircular line define the hair and the head's shape. The rest of the picture plane is exclusively filled with gently delineated areas of color. Delicate blue meets bold rosé and apricot meets rich green, combining with a wealth of bold, colorful lines to form a particularly harmonious whole. The structure is brought to life from above: a small sun on the right casts warm light on the upper half of the balanced composition, while the lower half of the picture lies in shadow, thus following Jawlensky's conviction that a divine order is expressed by an open, supernatural ‘above’ and a closed ‘below’ in this world.

“I painted in Wiesbaden for several years [...]. I was so focused on these works and wanted to achieve perfect and spiritual content. This resulted in some outstanding works.” (Alexej von Jawlensky, Lebenserinnerungen, 1937, in: Clemens Weiler, 1970, p. 119f.) This work, also created in Wiesbaden, is an exceptionally harmonious, balanced, and expressive ‘Abstract Head’ from the artist's important series. In a fascinating duality of light and shadow, line and surface, warmth and cold, the stylized face with contemplative, closed eyes radiates absolute stillness in ideal balance and weightlessly rests in itself. [CH]