Two Blue Horses Sketch by Franz Marc

The Two Blue Horses Sketch is a perfect display of the regard in which Marc held the animal world.

Marc looked to the nature as a cure to daily life in his era, a routine from which he felt more and more disengaged. The natural and animal worlds were more than just an escape to him; they were a spiritual means of finding and renewing what had been lost with the growth of industry and civilisation.

This lead to his paintings of animals becoming instilled with a sense of calming reverence. Marcs' choice of cool colours and simple design brings the viewer a deep sense of peace and serenity.

Due to the sketched state of the painting, it is also possible for a discerning eye to following the history of the image as it was brought to life by Marc.

As the image was one made by Marc for reference for his other blue horse paintings, the year in which it was painted cannot be certain. His Blue Horses collection place this sketch between 1911 and 1913.

Unfortunately for the art world, Marc was recruited into the German army with the outbreak of World War 1 and stopped creating his public collections.

However, this did not stop him from painting completely as by 1916 Marc had been commissioned to create camouflage tarpaulins in order to hide German artillery from enemy aircraft.

In early 1916, orders were issued to withdraw renowned artists from the battlefield but these orders arrived too late for Marc. At the Battle of Verdun, Marc was sadly struck by shrapnel and killed in battle.

Born in Munich, 1880, Franz Marc was the son of landscape painter Wilhelm Marc and as such received an education in art at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Upon completion of his studies, Marc travelled to France where he found his way into the artistic circles of Paris and gained inspiration from the works of Vincent van Gogh.