Marianne von Werefkin Lot n° 178

Marianne von Werefkin Nude with arms behind the head. Verso: Nude (each Helene Nesnakomoff) 1909 Gouache and ink pen drawing resp. red chalk and ink pen drawing on verso on light grey machine-made paper 19,3 x 24,5 cm Unmarked. - Slightly browned. With an expert opinion by Bernd Fäthke, Wiesbaden, dated May 25, 2019. Provenance As an inheritance from Marianne von Werefkin to her nephew Alexander von Werefkin; from him as a gift to private property Hesse. Exhibitions Bietigheim-Bissingen/Bremen 2014 (Städtische Galerie/Museen Böttcherstraße, Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum), Marianne Werefkin. From the Blue Rider to the Great Bear, cat.no. 26 with illus. ("Nude, Helene with Blue Stockings"). Helene Nesnakomoff (1886-1965), portrayed twice here by Marianne von Werefkin, was the artist's housekeeper and her only nude model. Helene was taken into the household of the wealthy von Werefkin family in Lithuania as early as 1895, where Alexej von Jawlensky, Marianne von Werefkin's companion since 1892, met her during a visit. A year later Werefkin and Jawlensky settled in Munich, Helene accompanying the couple as a personal servant. A ménage à trois developed between them, and in 1902 Jawlensky and Helene's son together was born. The two married in Wiesbaden in 1922 after separating from Werefkin. Helene was a frequent model for both artists, and several portraits of her exist. In these two works, the artist draws the woman with whom she was so explosively connected with swift, sure strokes. Helene's Japanese-style pinned hairstyle, visible in the gouache on the front, may illustrate Werefkin's interest in Japanese art, which she shared with numerous fellow artists.