One of the key figures of the Expressionist movement in Germany, Franz Marc was an artist extraordinaire who graced us with some of the finest works of arts and was an artist whom the art world lost too soon – Franz Marc passed away at a young age of 36. Yet even at that age he was able to showcase his brilliance in print work and paints, one often wonders what other masterpieces Marc would have made had he gone on to live longer. Marc was also the founding member of the Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a magazine which was run by fellow artists who showcased their works, wrote about art of the Expressionist movement.
Franz Marc was born on February 8, 1880 in Munich, Germany to a landscape painter, so it is no wonder that Marc inherited a flair for art from a young age. The next few years saw Marc studying art at university and moving to Paris in a bid to study the art works of many great artists. Marc discovered that he held a strong inclination towards the works of van Gogh. He was very sociable in the art circle, interacting with many fellow artists and mingling with them thus gaining more experience and honing his craft. Marc had a very philosophical approach towards art, he considered art to be a medium through which natural objects should be laid bare in their natural form rather than be clad in layers of appearances. Marc’s art also stands out as he mostly painted animals, in a spiritual manner one can say. He utilized numerous colors and design methodologies to paint, along with the unique ability of making strange angles in his work stand out with the use of bold colors. His style was very futuristic for that time which is why it stood out so vividly.
Marc’s philosophical approach towards art can be seen clearly in his work Blue Horses, the painting is an image of three horses overlapping each other – all looking in different directions – set against a bright background. What is beautiful about this painting is the use of the color blue for the horses, making them look almost ethereal in a way. A simple everyday animal, yet Marc was able to capture in such a mighty and beautiful manner in the Blue Horses. He was deeply inspired by the spiritual force of nature, which is why most of his works centered on animals. Another work of Marc’s which stands out is the White Bull, as the name suggests its main subject matter is a bull. Set against the backdrop of a lush lagoon, the bull is effervescent in its white color – the way Marc has been able to capture its tranquility and simplicity is just astounding. The bull is at the center of the painting yet at the same time the eye is also drawn to the background, due to Marc’s magnificence with using technique colors.
Many art experts believe that Marc’s work was too advanced for that time; his work set in motion a chain of events which inspired future artists to experiment with colors and sharp angles. They were also inspired by Marc to move away from portraits exhibiting just human faces. Through Marc they were able to understand that art could be in any shape way or form.