Red Blossom

Alexej von Jawlensky
Russia, 1864-1941
Red Blossom
Oil on board, 1910
Bequest of Earle W. Grant
1972:46
© San Diego Museum of Art

When In Time

1861
American Civil War begins

1864
Jawlensky born in Russia

1876
Thomas Edison invents the electric light

1886

Statue of Liberty is given to the U.S. from France

1910
Red Blossom is painted

1919
In the U.S., women are granted the right to vote

1933

First modern airplane with
passengers

1941
Jawlensky dies in Germany

1947
Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American baseball player in the major leagues

Who What When Where Why

Who is the artist?
Alexej von Jawlensky

What is the name of the artwork?
Red Blossom

What materials were used?
Oil on board

Where is the artist from?
Russia

When was the artwork made?
1910

Who?

Alexej von Jawlensky was born in Torzhok, Russia on March 26, 1864. As a young man, Jawlensky went to school to become a soldier. When he was 16 years old, he went to the World Exhibition in Moscow. It was here that Jawlensky saw paintings for the first time and he knew at once that wanted to become an artist. In 1889, Jawlensky moved to St. Petersburg and began to take art classes.

In 1896, Jawlensky left Russia and moved to Munich, Germany to study art. From here, he traveled throughout Europe, meeting important artists along the way. On one of his trips to France, in 1905, Jawlensky began to paint with colors, showing not what he saw, but how he felt. He used this style to paint still-life, portraits, and landscapes.

Why?

Red Blossom is one of Alexej von Jawlensky’s abstract portraits. An abstract portrait is a picture of a person that doesn't look realistic. In Red Blossom, one can tell that this is a picture of a woman, but the colors used along with the shape of her face do not look real-life. Jawlensky chose to paint this way because he thought it was more important to show emotions and feeling through colors than to copy reality.

Did the artist use warm or cool colors in this portrait? How do these colors make you feel?

Would you like to meet this person? Why or why not? What do you think she would be like?

If you were going to paint a portrait, who would it be of? What colors would you use in your portrait? Why?

Glossary Terms

Abstract - a type of artwork where the artist changes the appearance so it no longer looks realistic.
Cool - colors that remind you of cool things: blue, green, and violet.
Landscape - an artwork that shows scenes from nature.
Portrait - a picture of a person, usually showing the face .
Still life - an artwork that shows inanimate objects, like a bowl of fruit.
Warm - colors that remind you of warm things: red, yellow, and orange.