Three Horses 1912

Franz Marc made this striking image, "Three Horses," using oil paint on canvas. The fluid quality of the paint allows Marc to blend colors, creating a sense of movement and energy. Look closely and you can see how the brushstrokes follow the contours of the horses' bodies and the surrounding landscape. Marc's expressive use of color—the fiery reds, deep blues, and vibrant yellows—isn't just descriptive, it's emotional. It's interesting to consider the materiality of the paint itself, and how its inherent qualities of viscosity and pigment contribute to the overall effect. The act of painting, with its layering and blending of colors, mirrors the interconnectedness of the horses and their environment, blurring the lines between the animal and the natural world. This piece challenges the conventional idea of painting as merely a mimetic exercise and emphasizes the importance of materials, making, and context in understanding the full meaning of an artwork.