Franz Marc and Maria in the Studio

August Macke and Franz Marc were famous artists whose styles featured a number of similarities, which would have been partly due to the amount of time that they spent in each other's company.

This painting gives us a visual display of their strong connection, with Macke capturing Marc at work. He wears a loose shirt which protects him against any stray oils and he works with a great focus, unaware of the environment around him across the rest of the room. The room is fairly bare, other than a few paintings hung on the wall plus a couch on which Maria is sat. She looks relaxed, perhaps occupying herself by reading a book or newspaper. There is also a simple wooden chair in the background just below two windows which sit next to each other in the far corner of the room.

They provide some natural light which allows a brighter set of colours to be used right across the composition. The artwork is dated at 1912 which would allow art historians to potentially discover the precise location of this room - it is almost certainly the home of one of the two artists. Many would work collaboratively like this, spending time in each other's company in order to exchange creative ideas, even theories (see Kandinsky) in some cases. Other artists have also produced scenes in which their colleagues are painting, with several capturing Claude Monet in his garden, next to an easel. Van Gogh was also painted by his friend Gauguin as well.

The original title in German was Franz und Maria Marc im Atelier and the lady shown was Franz's second wife. She was also an accomplished artist herself, and so would have been more than comfortable in the company of these two gentlemen as they discussed different elements of their own careers. Research into the two artists has uncovered substantial information about Maria, including several examples of her work. All of their lives would cross over on multiple occasions at this point, and elements of their careers would feature each other from time to time.