Abstraktes Aquarell I 1913 - 1914

Franz Marc made this abstract watercolor sometime around 1912. Marc was a German expressionist painter, known for his use of vibrant colors and animal subjects. Abstraction was the way for artists to free themselves from academic tradition. Visual codes and cultural references from the past were abandoned in favor of art that reflected the artists’ inner world and the social and political conditions of the time. Germany was on the brink of World War I, and many artists felt that traditional forms of representation could no longer express the anxieties and uncertainties of modern life. Abstract art was seen as a way to create a new visual language that could reflect the changing world. To better understand the art of this time, we look at manifestos and other primary source documents that tell us more about artists' motivations. Marc, along with others, believed art could pave the way for social and political transformation.