Broken Forms by Franz Marc

Broken Forms was painted by Marc in the later stages of his life and is one of the most striking examples of his artistic ideals and represents a distancing of himself from the idea of art as direct representation

Contrasted with his earlier works which examined nature and animals and aimed to provide a physical representation of them, Broken Forms is an almost completely abstract work and focuses on form and colour rather than imitation of natural forms.

Comparisons to his earlier work can be made however, and in Broken Forms we see him maintain his fascination with colour, particularly his recognisable yellow, blues and reds and these strike a vibrant and almost visceral form onto the canvas.

In terms of a deeper meaning to the work Broken Forms can be taken to represent Marc's worries about the brewing war in Europe. Part of a series containing the works Cheerful Forms, which has unfortunately been destroyed, Playing Forms and Forms in Combat, Broken Forms can be seen as a reflection on the times he found himself living in and the dark clouds of war on the horizon.

While a certain narrative can be ascribed to this painting and to the series it belongs to, it could be argued that Broken Forms is an examination of forms and is a conscious effort to move away from his earlier works which attempted to examine nature through his works on animals.

A more ethereal and intangible world is hinted at in this work and a retreat into the solace of pure forms away from the visceral and often troubling world of humanity and the mortal plane.