Art Guide · Painters
Franz Marc
1880–1916
Franz Marc (1880–1916) was a German Expressionist painter and co-founder of the Blue Rider group, known for his blue horses and colourful animals, to which he gave symbolic meaning.
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life
The son of a painter, he was born in Munich and, after considering theology, studied painting at the Munich Academy. In 1911 he founded the Blue Rider with Wassily Kandinsky, and together they published the almanac of the same name.
He joined the German army in the First World War and was killed in 1916 during the Battle of Verdun, aged 36.
Style and key works
Marc saw animals as the pure, innocent soul of nature. In a 1910 letter to his friend August Macke he described blue as masculine and spiritual, yellow as feminine and gentle, and red as heavy, violent matter. Blue Horse I and The Large Blue Horses (both 1911) are the best-known expressions of this colour language.
Key works
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Frequently asked questions
Why did Franz Marc paint horses blue?
He used colour symbolically rather than realistically; for him blue stood for spirituality and purity.
Where is Blue Horse I?
At the Lenbachhaus in Munich, which is famous for its Blue Rider collection.