OAI Open Art Blog

Marc Franz, son of art, was born in Munich on February 8, 1880 and is one of the most important painters of the 20th century, as well as the most famous representative of German expressionism.

Initially the idea of ​​becoming a pastor matured in him, then, in 1899 he enrolled at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich to study philosophy, a year later, he decided to change and to enroll at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and to devote himself to painting and sport. Initially (like all painters of the time) he began his career mainly painting landscapes then in 1910 something changes: he exhibited at his first solo exhibition and at the event he will have the opportunity to meet painters such as Vasilij Kandinskij and many others, from this moment his career takes off. Let’s analyse some of his works …

“The tower of the blue horses”

This 1913 painting can be considered one of his most important works, it represents four blue horses arranged in a very balanced way. In the painting it is evident his style that with these very bright, luminous colours and these very cubists and almost futurist shapes represent him. Although the colours do not represent reality, horses show a detailed representation of the anatomy.

“Yellow cow”

This painting represents a yellow cow (colour he often used) that is jumping representing lightness and elegance. Franz with the yellow colour often represents femininity, with this painting he wants to tell us and highlight the fact that each of us should live in a calm and gentle way.

“Blue and black fox”

Blue and Black Fox is a painting from 1912 and is part of a series of paintings in which the artist represents different types of animals. The purple and blue fox is depicted asleep in a forest of bright and vibrant colours. The fox has evident human similarities and expressiveness (a characteristic that is frequent in Franz’s works).