Crouching Deer by Franz Marc

Crouching Deer is a work created in 1911 by artist, Franz Marc. Painted in the expressionist style, Crouching Deer depicts a resting deer amongst vegetation and a backdrop of hills

The use of color is rustic and shadowy, creating a sense of solace and potential loneliness. Marc developed his concept of symbolic color over a number of years but was mostly established with his theme by 1911 (the year in which Crouching Deer was created).

The use of red by Franz Marc is known to represent violence or a serious under toning in his work; therefore, it is possible the deer is at rest but the artist sees him to be in danger.

It is common to see the works of Franz Marc depict animals in their natural settings and one can see here that the deer is represented by a cubic form, also common in Marc's work.

The cubic presentation allows for Marc to express the deer as he sees it emotionally, rather than from more realistic external factors. Likely the form and the use of color are linked to how Marc sees the deer emotionally.

It is possible to view similarly themed works by Marc as depicted by Red Deer and Deer in the Forest. One will see a similar use of color and expressionistic style in the aforementioned works. It was Marc's firm belief that he could represent his own spiritual feelings through animals and that animals were somehow more pure or natural than human beings.

Therefore, it is without wonder why Marc chose to create so many of his works with animals at the forefront of the painting's theme. Crouching Deer is yet another example of Marc's use of animals in order to display his feelings of the natural world.