This painting is typical of Marc’s strong style that was to be a major influence on German Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, and much of European Modernism that would follow ‘between the wars’.
He saw colours not only as an expressive element in painting, but as representing various universal principals that were either in conflict or harmony. To Franz Marc, painting was a spiritual act and a form of transcendence. He was a student of theology and saw art as a combination of human, animal, nature, the spiritual and the scientific. In Aphorisms (1914) he wrote, “The art to come will be giving form to our scientific convictions. This art is our religion, our centre of gravity, our truth.” Although Franz Marc depicted mainly recognisable natural animal forms, his art heralded the development of Abstract Expressionism. This is clear in this work: Imagine the painting with the detail of the tiger’s eye omitted and it effectively becomes a powerful abstract.
The composition is dynamic yet well-balanced, even though complementary colours of intense reds and greens are placed right next to each other. The theory that colour had both psychological and spiritual effects was shared by most Blue Rider artists. Marc also used colour as narrative and metaphorical elements. By creating a harmonious composition using contrasting colours, he poetically points out that society should be able to achieve harmony by the strength of its differences and not be fractured by them. Just because someone has different political or religious views, it does not mean they cannot contribute to a stable and progressive culture and like the whole of nature, human society should thrive on its variety and not strive for conformity.
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