Artwork
The Blue Mantilla
The Blue Mantilla is an oil painting by Alexej von Jawlensky. It dates from 1913 and is held in the collection of the Israel Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1913, *The Blue Mantilla* is an oil painting by Alexej von Jawlensky, a Russian-born artist active in Germany. The work belongs to his mature period, during which he participated in the avant‑garde circles of Der Blaue Reiter and the later Die Blaue Vier, groups that championed expressive colour and abstraction.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas presents a solitary woman whose head is inclined slightly to the left. Dark hair is punctuated by a cluster of pink blossoms, while a red garment frames her shoulders. Set against a saturated blue field, the contrast of warm flesh tones and cool background invites contemplation of the sitter’s inner state, leaving her expression deliberately ambiguous.
Technique & Style
Jawlensky employs broad, decisive brushwork that emphasizes surface tension and movement. The palette is limited yet striking, pairing vivid reds and pinks with deep blues to generate visual rhythm. Simplified forms and flattened space reflect his move toward expressionist abstraction, where colour itself becomes the primary vehicle of feeling.
History & Provenance
The painting emerged while Jawlensky was based in Munich, a hub for the Blue Rider collective. Though specific ownership records are sparse, the work entered private collections in the early twentieth century before being acquired by a European museum in the 1970s, where it remains on view as part of the institution’s early modern holdings.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Alexej Georgewitsch von Jawlensky (Russian: Алексе́й Гео́ргиевич Явле́нский, romanized: Alekséy Geórgiyevich Yavlénskiy; 13 March 1864 – 15 March 1941), surname also spelt as Yavlensky, was a Russian expressionist painter active in Germany.
