Sheaf of Grain by Franz Marc

Sheaf Of Grain is an oil on canvas that was painted by Franz Marc in 1907

This piece was completed around the time Marc visited Paris in 1907 and was influenced by the artists Cezanne, Gaughin and Van Gogh.

The similarity between this piece and the works of Van Gogh are visible. There is a resemblance between Sheaf Of Grain and Van Gogh’s series of paintings titled Wheat Fields which were painted in the 1890s. Marc spoke highly of Van Gogh and was inspired by his use of simple objects in his pieces and the symbolism within his work.

Sheaf Of Grain is distinguishable from his later work that involved bright primary colours and abstract shapes.

Whilst his interpretation of the subject matter in Sheaf Of Grain is not an attempt to capture a very realistic image, it is far easier to decipher the object of focus than in his later pieces where the animals he painted were sometimes barely recognisable at first look.

This is an example of his earlier work that came after his initial few years of training as an artist but before his famous period of German Expressionism. Marc began painting around 1900 but his life as an artist was cut short when he joined in German Army in 1914 to fight in the First World War and was killed in action in 1916.

His work may be divided into three different periods. From 1900 to 1907, he was in the early stages of developing his style.

From 1907, his style visibly changed as he went to Paris. Around 1911, his style changed yet again as he founded the Der Blaue Reiter journal and worked with the artists of the German Expressionist movement including Kandinsky and Delaunay.