Mystical head, Three-quarter profile
1917
Imagine staring into a stained-glass window that suddenly decided to become a human face. That's the vibe of Alexej von Jawlensky's 'Mystical Head.' Painted in 1917 right in the middle of World War I, this isn't a portrait of a specific person, but rather a map of the soul. Jawlensky, a former Russian military officer who traded his uniform for a paintbrush, simplified the human face into bold blocks of blue, purple, and red. He believed that by stripping away realistic details, he could reveal the divine spark inside us all. This piece is part of his famous 'Mystical Heads' series, created while he was living in exile in Switzerland, serving as a sort of visual meditation during a chaotic time.
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