The »Abstract Heads« can be understood as a form of modern religious icons. These are objects for focus and contemplation. In this series of works, on which he worked from 1918 to 1935, Jawlensky broke away from natural models and transformed the human face into a fixed, geometrically ordered system of signs. The departure from individual portraiture was accompanied by an increasing focus on repetition, variation and inner order. The artist developed a fixed compositional scheme, which he continually revitalised with an almost inexhaustible variety of colour tones.

»Abstrakter Kopf: September« follows this reduced vocabulary of forms in a particularly concentrated manner. The cheeks and chin are summarised by a large U-shape, while the nose and eyebrows are marked by narrow, ridge-like lines that meet at right angles. The mouth appears as a horizontal line, and the eyes are reduced to slightly downward-curving strokes. The colours are deliberately used in a differentiated manner. The pictorial space is defined by clearly delineated, calm areas of colour. Cool blue relates to bright pink, apricot to rich green; strong lines link these tones to create a cohesive, balanced overall effect. The composition is enlivened by a small sun in the right-hand area of the work, which bathes the upper half in warm light, while the lower part remains in shadow.

In the tense balance between light and dark, line and surface, warmth and coolness, the stylised face with closed eyes exudes a meditative calm. Detached from any physicality, it seems to float in perfect inner harmony. It radiates a quiet, timeless presence.

»Abstrakter Kopf: September« shows Jawlensky at the height of his exploration of serial abstraction of the human face and is one of the most cohesive works in this group. Comparable »Abstract Heads« can be found in major national and international museum collections, including the Bavarian State Painting Collections, the Städel Museum and the National Gallery in Berlin.