I chose Franz Marc because my maternal grandfather, a painter, experimented with the Blaue Reiter style for a while after WWI, and was a German Expressionist for most of his life. I felt a shock of recognition at Marc’s paintings. I brought the Taschen book on Marc to my mother, who has Alzheimer’s, and she revived from her torpor to talk intelligently and at length about the hopes of her father’s generation and how Marc was an inspiration to them.
Franz Marc (1880-1916), was a German Expressionist with Calvinist roots. He grew up in Munich and studied there at the Academy of Fine Arts. Marc studied paintings in France, and Byzantine paintings in Greece. In 1911 he founded the journal, Der Blaue Reiter, which became a movement that included Wassily Kandinsky. His relationship with women was stormy, and in his short lifespan he carried on a long-term affair and married twice.
In World War I he joined the German Army. He worked as a camouflage artist, saying that his pointillist style ranged “from Manet to Kandinsky.”
The government was going to withdraw him from combat because he was a notable artist, but he was killed before that could happen. He died at Verdun, where my grandfather also served. I wonder if the two artists met during that 10-month-long battle?
The Blaue Reiter group didn’t have a manifesto, but during its short life (1911-14), its members strove to express spiritual truths through art.
The Expressionists, of which Blaue Reiter was a part, tried to express emotions rather than reality. They distorted colors and shapes to that end. An example is Marc’s “Tierschicksale,” or “The Destiny of the Animals,” painted prophetically in 1913 just before WWI, see below
Like Kandinsky, Miro, and many others, Marc had a personal alphabet of symbol and color. For him, blue was masculine and spiritual, yellow feminine and joyous, and red primal violence. His palette used primary colors. At the onset of his career, he painted dozens of horses as well as other animals, notably dancing cows and sitting deer. He said that the artist must enter into being the animal as well as just to study its form.
As the war approached, animals seemed to lose their meaning for him and his paintings and prints became more abstract.
There is something about Marc's use of color, his tender portrayal of animals, and his ability to abstract without losing the spirit of his subjects that appeals to me immensely. Of all the artists I've reviewed here, he's my favorite.
Franz Marc (1880-1916), was a German Expressionist with Calvinist roots. He grew up in Munich and studied there at the Academy of Fine Arts. Marc studied paintings in France, and Byzantine paintings in Greece. In 1911 he founded the journal, Der Blaue Reiter, which became a movement that included Wassily Kandinsky. His relationship with women was stormy, and in his short lifespan he carried on a long-term affair and married twice.
In World War I he joined the German Army. He worked as a camouflage artist, saying that his pointillist style ranged “from Manet to Kandinsky.”
The government was going to withdraw him from combat because he was a notable artist, but he was killed before that could happen. He died at Verdun, where my grandfather also served. I wonder if the two artists met during that 10-month-long battle?
The Blaue Reiter group didn’t have a manifesto, but during its short life (1911-14), its members strove to express spiritual truths through art.
The Expressionists, of which Blaue Reiter was a part, tried to express emotions rather than reality. They distorted colors and shapes to that end. An example is Marc’s “Tierschicksale,” or “The Destiny of the Animals,” painted prophetically in 1913 just before WWI, see below
Like Kandinsky, Miro, and many others, Marc had a personal alphabet of symbol and color. For him, blue was masculine and spiritual, yellow feminine and joyous, and red primal violence. His palette used primary colors. At the onset of his career, he painted dozens of horses as well as other animals, notably dancing cows and sitting deer. He said that the artist must enter into being the animal as well as just to study its form.
As the war approached, animals seemed to lose their meaning for him and his paintings and prints became more abstract.
There is something about Marc's use of color, his tender portrayal of animals, and his ability to abstract without losing the spirit of his subjects that appeals to me immensely. Of all the artists I've reviewed here, he's my favorite.
Tierschicksale (The Fate of the Animals)
The animals in this daggered painting do not have a pleasant fate awaiting them, it seems. Violent red slashes through the serene blue and joyous yellows. Somehow, the purity of the colors is preserved even with all the fragmentation going on.
Marc had several styles available to him, including the very soft sensuous way that he drew horses. By using cubist techniques, he emphasized the fractured nature of his subject. However, the overall feel of this painting is Expressionist. Emotion rather than explanation predominates.
I think this is a masterpiece because I can't get it out of my mind.
Marc had several styles available to him, including the very soft sensuous way that he drew horses. By using cubist techniques, he emphasized the fractured nature of his subject. However, the overall feel of this painting is Expressionist. Emotion rather than explanation predominates.
I think this is a masterpiece because I can't get it out of my mind.
Lesson Plans for Franz Marc/Cubism and Mona Brooks' Shape Alphabet
1. Relaxation
2. Instruction from Mona Brooks' "Drawing with Children," the shape alphabet.
3. Chose three from five 15-minute stations (see below).
4. Masterwork: Create a cubist piece of art.
5. Cleanup.
2. Instruction from Mona Brooks' "Drawing with Children," the shape alphabet.
3. Chose three from five 15-minute stations (see below).
4. Masterwork: Create a cubist piece of art.
5. Cleanup.
Station One: Shape Alphabet
1. Study the shape alphabet
2. Make simple animalcules using the shapes. (an animalcule is a little cartoon animal using just one or two shapes)
3. Make a story using the animalcules.
2. Make simple animalcules using the shapes. (an animalcule is a little cartoon animal using just one or two shapes)
3. Make a story using the animalcules.
Station Two: Doodles
1. Study the shape alphabet.
2. Pick a shape and repeat it several times, large and small, on your page.
3. Do this with another shape.
4. Color.
2. Pick a shape and repeat it several times, large and small, on your page.
3. Do this with another shape.
4. Color.
Station Three: Still Life of Cup, Saucer, and Apple
1. Consult with other people at the station and arrange the still life the way you like it.
2. Draw several views of the same thing on your paper.
3. Connect with artistically satisfying lines.
4. Color.
2. Draw several views of the same thing on your paper.
3. Connect with artistically satisfying lines.
4. Color.
Station Four: Water Bottle
1. Draw several views of the water bottle on top of each other.
2. Color or shade each section.
2. Color or shade each section.
Station Five: Franz Marc
1. Read the Wikipedia article about Franz Marc and leaf through the Taschen book.
2. Pick three colors and give them a meaning. Marc thought Yellow was feminine and happy, Blue was masculine and strong, and Red was violent. Your meanings will probably be different.
3. Use the shape alphabet and marking pens to make a drawing where you can show the meaning of the three colors you picked.
2. Pick three colors and give them a meaning. Marc thought Yellow was feminine and happy, Blue was masculine and strong, and Red was violent. Your meanings will probably be different.
3. Use the shape alphabet and marking pens to make a drawing where you can show the meaning of the three colors you picked.
Cubist Fish - Masterwork Discussion
I did this oil painting to illustrate cubism to my students. It was inspired by Marc's painting above, but there are significant differences. For one thing, I use more muted colors than he did, and it's probably clear that I don't have symbolic meanings in mind. My fish are curved rather than slashed apart. This painting, while decorative, simply doesn't have the roiling fear that Marc's does. (Probably that's a good thing.)