Der Blaue Reiter: Alexej von Jawlensky
Schokko with Wide-Brimmed Hat (Schokko mit großem Hut), 1910
oil on cardboard mounted on canvas
75 × 65.1 cm
Private collection

Schokko with Wide-Brimmed Hat, painted in 1910, is one of Jawlensky’s most distinctive portraits from his early Munich years — a moment when his work was moving decisively toward expressive colour and simplified form. The sitter known as “Schokko” appears in several of his paintings from this period, and here she emerges with striking immediacy: the broad hat frames her face like a burst of colour, while the bold, rhythmic brushstrokes give the portrait a sense of energy that feels both modern and deeply personal. Although little is known about her beyond the studio nickname, she became one of the steady presences through whom Jawlensky explored this new language of colour and form.

Jawlensky was living in Munich at the time, working closely with Marianne von Werefkin and in conversation with Kandinsky and the artists who would soon form Der Blaue Reiter. That circle shared a belief in colour as a direct emotional language, and its influence is easy to feel here. Their exhibitions and discussions encouraged a freer, more intuitive approach to painting, and Jawlensky’s own shift toward distilled form and heightened colour sits comfortably within that atmosphere. Werefkin’s emphasis on psychological presence also left its mark, giving portraits like this one a clarity and focus that go beyond simple likeness.

The choice of cardboard as a support, later mounted on canvas, reflects Jawlensky’s working habits during these years: he often painted quickly and intuitively, seeking to capture the inner presence of his sitters rather than their precise features. The result is a portrait that feels immediate and unguarded, grounded in the real presence of the model yet lifted into a world shaped by colour and emotion.

Although the identity of “Schokko” remains partly veiled, her image has become one of the defining motifs of Jawlensky’s early Expressionist period. The warmth, clarity, and directness of this portrait mark a moment when his art found a more personal and unmistakable voice.