by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 17, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
Looking at Wild Pigs, Boar and Sow
Franz Marc's Wildschweine (Wild Boars), also called Eber und Sau (Boar and Sow), dates from 1913. The painting belongs to Museum Ludwig in Cologne. A museum-sourced image record identifies it as oil on paperboard, 73.5 × 57.5 cm, and gives accession ML 76/2955. A separate reproduction calls the support canvas; the museum-sourced record is the safer guide to that detail. Both reproduce the exact composition shown on this page. [1] [2]
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Watch on YouTubeFinding the two animals
The blue boar fills much of the narrow painting. Its back curves from the upper left toward a lowered head at centre right, where small white tusks make the snout easier to locate. The second animal, the sow, is less immediately distinct: warm red and orange forms pass behind and above the boar. Green leaves and dark blue shapes overlap the bodies below. Marc has made a close, layered group rather than two separated animal portraits.
Following the boar's outline shows how little of it is isolated from the setting. Blue and violet strokes that model its shoulder continue into darker surrounding planes. A yellow leaf near the lower right interrupts the cool colours and leads the eye back into the tangle of plants. The sow's warmer colour helps locate her, but parts of her body are absorbed by the same angled bands. The animals and their shelter seem built from one restless field of paint. [2]
This is a different work from Marc's earlier Wild Boars in the Water, a smaller watercolour and gouache sheet in the Guggenheim collection. The similar English titles can conceal different dates, supports and compositions. Here the upright format and tightly overlapping bodies are the quickest ways to identify the 1913 Cologne painting. [1] [3]
Artwork Directory
This source-checked selection contains 192 identified works and print designs from the current Franz Marc research set. It is a curated selection, not a complete catalogue raisonné. Some works link to their article here; others link to a collection record. Unresolved identifications are omitted.
Discussion
The blue boar and warmer sow share a dense field of leaves and overlapping colour.
Reader Insights
Observation
Where do you first find the sow behind the larger boar?
Comparison
How does the close upright group differ from Wild Boars in the Water?
Interpretation
Does the foliage shelter the animals or make the scene more restless?
Join the Conversation
Which detail changed the way you saw this work? Share a close observation or a comparison with another Marc picture.
References
- Museum Ludwig-sourced image and object data. View source.
- public-domain full reproduction. View source.
- Guggenheim-uploaded Wild Boars in the Water file. View source.
- Related artwork image, Yellow Cow: Photograph by Dr. Alexey Yakovlev; resized without crop or colour change, CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Splash image: Franz Marc, Wildschweine (Eber und Sau), 1913, oil on paperboard, 73.5 × 57.5 cm. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, ML 76/2955. Public-domain faithful reproduction, resized without crop or colour adjustment. Image file and rights.
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