Alexej von Jawlensky

Alexej von Jawlensky, born in 1864 in Torschok, Russia, was an influential artist of the Expressionist Movement. In 1891, he met the painter Marianne von Werferin, who supported him for a long time not only financially, but also artistically. His expressive colourful style reduced form and heightened colour to the expression of an abstract truth. In 1912, he joined the artists' group founded by Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky, Der Blaue Reiter. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, he was banned from exhibiting. This led him to send his paintings to exhibitions in the USA. His deteriorating health eventually developed into physical paralysis, which made it impossible for him to paint from 1938 onwards. Jawlensky died in 1941 in Wiesbaden, Germany.