German artist Franz Mark: biography, creativity

Expressionist paintings always fascinated and amazed admirers of art. This current appeared at the end of the 19th century, but reached its peak at the beginning of the 20th century. The most prominent representatives of this trend were born in Austria and Germany. Franz Mark was no exception. He, along with other creators, tried to express in his paintings his view of the ugliness of civilization that caused the events of the 20th century, in particular the First World War.

Birth

Franz Mark was born in 1880. His father was also an artist, which directly influenced his future destiny. Despite the fact that he dreamed of becoming a priest in his youth, already at the age of 20 decided to pay attention to art.

Training

The painter lived a short life. In 1900, the Academy of Arts became for him a home, where he studied and became acquainted with impressionism and post-impressionism. Then this place was a certain abode of world creativity. The Munich Academy of Arts collected under its roof the future of famous artists. Next to Franz studied Hackle and Dietz. Although they became known, Mark still could not catch up with them.

The young artist tried not to sit still, but to study art not only in his own country. This explains his trip to Paris, where he was just getting acquainted with the French trends in art. Here he could see the creations of the great Van Gogh and Gauguin.

The second trip of the painter to Paris influenced the themes of his future creations. Returning to Munich, he began to study in depth the anatomy of animals, in order to depict his view of nature in his paintings.

"The Blue Horseman"

"The new Munich Art Association" attracted the attention of Franz after acquaintance with August Macke. Then, in 1910, he decided to be part of this organization. For a long time he could not get acquainted with the head of the community Vasily Kandinsky. A year later they finally met. After 10 months, artists Kandinsky, Make and Franz decided to create their own organization "Blue Rider".

Immediately they were able to organize an exhibition where Franz presented his works. Then in the gallery Tangauser were collected the best German expressionist paintings. And a trio of Munich painters worked to promote their society.

Cubism and the last years of life

The last stage in the life of Franz Mark can be considered his acquaintance with the work of Robert Delaunay. His Italian Cubism and Futurism made a significant contribution to the future work of the German painter. At the end of his life, Mark changed the direction in creativity. His paintings depicted increasingly abstract details, torn and blocky elements.

The beginning of the First World War inspired many artists and literature for their work. But over time, the creators were disappointed in the events and realities of the war. Franz Mark voluntarily went to the front. There he, like many other creative people, was disappointed in the events. He was wounded by bloodshed, terrible pictures and a sad outcome. But the artist was not destined to return and embody all of his creative ideas. At 36, the painter died from a fragment of the shell at Verdun.

Cloths and style

Life affects the artist, his creativity and style. With Franz also there were changes that poured into his canvases with new colors. The German by nature was a dreamer. He suffered for humanity and was sad for lost values in the modern world. In the pictures he tried to show something fantastic, peaceful, beautiful, but with the naked eye you can see that each painting was filled with anguish.

Writers and artists of the early 20th century tried to find and recreate the golden age, but the war turned everything into a heap of debris, and creative people tried to heal the wounds. In his works, Franz Mark tried to reflect primarily the philosophical principle. And all that was depicted in the paintings, it mattered. Each color was given its own symbols, each object was endowed with something special. Colors and forms influenced the human psyche, its mood and self-worth.

"The Blue Horse"

Always distinguished by a special approach to the creation of his paintings Franz Mark. "Blue horse" has become something symbolic in the work of the painter. This picture is most popular among the rest. In addition, along with others, it stands out as a special style. Just looking at it leads a person into a state of charm and piercing.

The painting depicts a horse that is full of strength. He symbolizes the youth. The body of the horse has several broken forms and an interesting overexposure. In the chest like a white light bites in, and the mane and hooves, on the contrary, are shrouded in blue.

The fact that the color of the horse is blue, is of unusual interest. But it is worth noting and no less attractive background. The result: the horse complements the background, and the background complements the horse. According to the artist's intention, these two objects can not exist separately, they are interconnected and are one whole, although they stand out among themselves.

After the creation of this picture, Franz tried to explain to Mack his idea. He argued that blue is the severity of a man, yellow is a woman's softness and sensuality, red is a matter that is suppressed by the two previous shades.

"Birds"

Another picture worthy of your attention. Her also wrote Franz Mark. "Birds" is another special work of the artist. It was written in 1914 and was the first unusual work that characterized the new style of the painter. This is a picture from the same mature painting of Mark, which became a reflection of the animal world. The artist felt that animals were that ideal, which were much higher and purer than people.

"Birds" is the same style that appeared after Robert Delone. Such a picture, despite its bright colors, emphasizes some kind of anxiety and hostile attitude. Most likely, this is due to sharp transitions from one shade to another. The picture becomes a "caustic" and apocalyptic.

Looking at the canvas, it seems that there is an explosion that worries and disturbs the birds. They fly apart and at the same time remain calm. When the world overtakes war, someone starts to fuss, and someone tries to accept the situation. "Birds" became a clear reflection of the military world with its fears and anxieties.