Alexej von Jawlensky Meditation Oil, ca. 1935
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GUEST:
It's an Alexej Jawlensky. It was my uncle's, and my mom inherited it when he died in the mid '70s. We're not sure exactly who he got it from. Not his wife, but, like, a girlfriend or a housekeeper or something he had, I guess, bought it from. We're not really sure.
APPRAISER:
But, but where was this?
GUEST:
In G... In Germany. We knew it was a good painter.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
It had been in a little shrine in the living room growing up, little shrine to my uncle. When we cleared out my parents' house, this came to my house. I had it authenticated back in, I think it was 2014.
APPRAISER:
It's one of those things where the authentication isn't much of a problem or even a signature. It's, it's signed all over the piece.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Um, it is Alexej von Jawlensky, a major artist...
GUEST:
Yeah, yeah.
APPRAISER:
...um, who was part of the, Der Blaue Reiter...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...in, in Munich, with, uh, Kandinsky and Marc...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...and, um, Gabriele Münter, and all these very famous people who sort of expanded German Expressionism.
GUEST:
Right, yeah.
APPRAISER:
You know, um, with their colors, and, and bright colors, and, and dramatic, you know, outlines. But this is a little later in his, his life.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
Did you, have you found out about that at all?
GUEST:
Yeah, I guess he did a whole series of these painti, face paintings. When I was growing up, at first, I thought it was a cross. (chuckles) Um...
APPRAISER:
Well, y, you're right on both counts.
GUEST:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
It, it, it's a fact that he just got a little obsessed a, a, as he went on later in his career-- he lived from 1864 to 1941. This is a period from about 1934 to 1937.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
He did these "Meditations."
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
This is very typical of his works at the time, where he really boiled down his, um, uh, faces to just the brow and the nose, almost like a cross, becomes almost a, a religious aspect.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And he, he does these "Meditations," lots of them. The materials, it's oil on paperboard. With some of his works, you know, the early ones, they're one-offs, and they're fabulous, bright, colorful things.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And you never know what's going to happen at auction.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
But with these, we have a whole range.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
You know, uh, over the last few years, hundreds have come up of this "Meditations" series.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
This may be one of the smaller "Meditations," but it's a little bit somber in its tone.
GUEST:
The one, other ones I saw were brighter.
APPRAISER:
If you want to insure it, they're probably worth about $100,000 of your, for insurance.
GUEST:
Okay, great.
APPRAISER:
So... There's a lot of money in a little, little package.
GUEST:
Yeah. Cool, thank you.
APPRAISER:
It'll be about $50,000 to $70,000...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...at an auction.
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