Child 1909

Alexej von Jawlensky made this painting, called “Child”, with oil on board. Look at that face! It's all these delicious planes of creamy yellow, pink and pale green. The dark, almond eyes stare straight out, and it's hard to tell what she's thinking. I love how the colors are laid down so directly, like the painting is built from a stack of simple, separate thoughts. Thick paint too, not trying to hide anything. Jawlensky wasn't afraid to let the process show. Check out the child’s red bow; it's just a few strokes, but says everything. Jawlensky kept pushing toward simplification in his work. You can see it even more in his later series of "Mystical Heads" and "Saviors' Faces," where he reduces the face to just a few essential lines and colors. It's like he's trying to get to the heart of something, peeling away all the surface details to reveal the soul. Like Agnes Martin said, art is an awareness of our own potential.