Girl with Cat II by Franz Marc

Girl with Cat II is an oil on canvas painting from 1912 by the German expressionist artist Franz Marc

Marc studied at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and early on in his career was inspired by the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh; however, his later works were influenced by futurism and cubism and his work became increasingly abstract.

In Girl with Cat II, Marc depicts a woman, the artist's wife Maria Franck, cradling a cat in her arms in a manner reminiscent of paintings of the Madonna and child.

This aspect is even more apparent considering Marc's belief in the purity and innocence of animals. Although cats do not feature in as many of Marc's paintings as some other animals, their portrayal evolves throughout the artist's career. This painting features Marc's trademark use of primary colours and the simplification of form that reflected the influence of cubism, futurism and orphism on his later works.

The orange of the girl's hair mirrors the orange of the cat's fur and combines yellow, which represented femininity and happiness to Marc, and red, which symbolised violence. Likewise, the girl is cloaked in blue, the colour which Marc used to represent masculinity. In this respect, the tranquil, feminine qualities of the picture are given a more powerful aspect.

Maria herself was also an artist, having studied first in Berlin and then in Munich, though not at the Academy of Fine Arts, as women were not permitted to study there. It was there, at a costume party in the bohemian district of Schwabing, where she met her future husband for the first time.

This painting is currently exhibited near the former home of Franz and Maria in the Franz Marc Museum in Kochel Am See in the German state of Bavaria.