One of the most original and powerful Russian twentieth century artists, Alexej von Jawlensky worked for most of his life in Germany with early spells in France. After he had come to terms with the impact of Gauguin, Cezanne and Matisse, his work went through Fauve and expressionist periods in the development of a highly personal style, In 1909 he helped found the Neue Kunstlervereinigung in Munich, and along with Kandinsky was an outstanding member of that group. He became one of the great twentieth century explorers of the soul, for whom art was 'nostalgia for God.'

This, the first of three volumes that will catalog nearly 2,000 oil paintings, covers the period up to his enforced departure from wartime Germany, during which he developed his brilliant use of colour. Pioneering introductory and end matter to the volume includes an authoritative biographical outline and a full list of one-man and group exhibitions, with Jawlensky's illuninating brief memoir of 1937.

The artist's inventory of his work, carried on after his death by his son Andreas and his wife Maria, was continued after Andreas's death by his wife and daughters Lucia and Angelica, now keepers of their grandfather's archive in Locarno.