The Blue Mantilla - Alexej von Jawlensky
Archival giclée
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Description
A striking Expressionist portrait by Alexej von Jawlensky, featuring bold colours and simplified, mask-like facial features.
Alexej von Jawlensky, a central figure in the Expressionist movement, produced this portrait during a period of intense stylistic development. The work displays his characteristic approach to the human face, where features are reduced to simplified, bold shapes and heavy outlines. The subject wears a dark mantilla, which frames the face and creates a stark contrast against the background. Jawlensky employs a non-naturalistic palette, using deep blues, fiery reds, and ochre tones to convey emotional weight rather than literal representation.
This painting belongs to a series of portraits from the early 1910s, a time when the artist was heavily influenced by the Fauvist use of colour and the structural rigour of Post-Impressionism. The face is treated as a mask, with the eyes rendered as large, almond-shaped voids that gaze directly at the viewer. The application of paint is thick and deliberate, with visible brushwork that adds texture to the surface of the cardboard. The flowers tucked into the hair provide a decorative element that balances the severity of the facial expression.
Jawlensky moved away from traditional portraiture to focus on the spiritual and psychological essence of his subjects. By stripping away extraneous detail, he forces the viewer to engage with the colour relationships and the geometric arrangement of the composition. The blue of the mantilla acts as a cooling agent against the warmth of the skin tones, creating a visual tension that is typical of his work from this era. This print captures the raw energy and the deliberate simplification that defined his contribution to modern European art.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
The Blue Mantilla - Alexej von Jawlensky
Artist Biography
Alexej Von Jawlensky
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.
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