Zwei Pferde 1910

Curator: Before us is Franz Marc's "Zwei Pferde," or "Two Horses," created around 1910. It's a pencil and charcoal sketch, full of movement and light. Editor: I feel a sense of almost raw energy in it. There’s a gentleness to the creatures he depicts, even though the strokes themselves are quite forceful. Almost feels like a prelude to something more finished. Curator: It does, doesn't it? You know, horses were incredibly important symbols for Marc. For him, they represented a harmony with nature, a pure and almost spiritual ideal. Editor: The way he’s rendered them, particularly with these soft gradations of shadow, gives them an ethereal, otherworldly quality. Are they literally horses or are they stand-ins for something else, perhaps emotional states, maybe even memories? Curator: Precisely. In Expressionism, color and form become vehicles for expressing inner emotions and spiritual awakenings. And Marc, particularly, imbued animals with almost human sensibilities – a sort of shared consciousness, he felt we all have with nature. Notice how the two horses are positioned? Editor: Yes, one seems almost to bow or bend towards the other in gesture that feels more intimate, less instinctual. What do they "say" to each other and, maybe, what do they tell us about connection and our mutual place in this life? Curator: Perhaps, he suggests that there are shared understandings that supersede verbal communication. What I see here are a mutual reliance and empathy, themes that would later explode into the raw paintings we know so well. But in some ways, I almost prefer this sketch. Editor: Because it shows the thought before it explodes on canvas? It captures the purity of the moment where vision meets the rawest form of expression? This one is speaking very loudly. Curator: It does. It reminds me that art, at its best, is about connection and empathy. It encourages us to look deeper, to see the world—and ourselves—in a different light. Editor: Absolutely. It’s a delicate reminder that the mundane can be profound. Thank you, Franz Marc, for that reminder!