A self-taught creative mind, Rudolf Jahns is lauded as a leading figure in German Constructivism, distinguished by his pursuit of harmony in aesthetic and musical form. For Jahns, art served as a vehicle through which he could translate hues, illuminations, and his personal encounters with nature into a sublimated medium through constructive abstraction.
This petite watercolor piece, titled Composition (Constr.), hails from 1924, a period in which Jahns had honed his craft and carved his own distinctive path after experimenting with an array of abstract forms. The portrait-oriented work comprises a composition of small squares and rectangles of varying sizes and shades that overlap at their borders, creating a subtle sense of space. The color palette predominantly features soft and muted tones of green and blue, occasionally shifting into earthy browns. Adding a splash of vibrancy amidst the earthy hues is a bright red square, a striking blue rectangle, two yellow and two orange rectangles, as well as a handful of delicate pink shapes. Of these vivacious color bursts, the most arresting is the red square situated in the upper portion of the painting, serving as the focal point and tying together the other highlights in the lower half. Each of these bolder shapes has been artfully coordinated, allowing them to seamlessly blend into the overall collection and collaborate with the surrounding shades of blue and green to create a harmonious and dynamic impression overall.
Studying a composition such as this proves difficult as it appears effortlessly natural, overshadowing the intense effort put into its creation. Apart from the meticulous planning, an eminent sense of balance between the elements was necessary, a skill that can only be partially learned and labeled as such. Even a casual observer can attribute a certain aura to the work, loosely associated with nature, the countryside, and the light at a particular time of day. And it is precisely these moods in the works of Rudolf Jahns that have earned him the title of poet, as a square was not simply a shape for him, but the tangible expression of a profound experience in his life in this world.
www.ftn-books.com has several Jahns titles available.
