Small Horse Picture 1909

Franz Marc made this painting of two horses, probably in the early 1900s, with oil on paper. Look how Marc’s applied the paint, it’s not about blending or smoothing, it’s all about the brushstroke and how the colours sit together. It’s like he’s thinking about the process first, and the horses second. When you look closely, you can see how the brushstrokes almost vibrate, especially around the bodies of the horses. The colour palette is interesting, a blend of yellows, greens, and browns which feel earthy and natural, yet there are passages of blue and white. See how the mark-making is so present, you get the sense of Marc building up the image. It makes me think of other early expressionists like Kandinsky or maybe even some of the Fauvist painters in France. Anyway, it’s a reminder that art is always a conversation.