6. Childhood
Born on February 8,
1880, in Munich,
Germany.
His father, Wilhelm,
was a professional
landscape painter.
His mother, Sophie,
was an Alsacian
from a strict
Calvinist tradition.
His grandparents were
amateur artists who
copied the masters.
7. Education
His father encouraged
him to study art but he
showed no interest in it
at first.
As a young boy, Marc
studied theology
intensely and originally
wanted to become a
priest. In 1898, he gave
up that goal to study
philosophy at the
University of Munich.
In 1900, he
abandoned this idea
and decided to take
painting classes at
the Munich
Academy of Fine
Arts, where his
father worked as a
professor.
8. Discovering Impressionism
Marc took several trips
to Paris, the first in
1903 when he had his
first contacts with the
Impressionists.
He was deeply
influenced by the works
of the modern French
painters, especially the
art of Vincent van
Gogh.
9.
10. Inspired by Nature
Marc looked towards nature and animals for
inspiration. His constant thematic concern
was the relationship between animal and
human spheres.
For Marc, animals represented a spiritual
attitude.
11. A Famous Work
Marc’s most important work of 1908 was Large
Lenggries Horse Painting 1. He had cut the
painting in pieces and used it to pad the roof of
his home. In 1936 the painting was found and
restored.
12. Life’s End
When, World War I began, Marc volunteered
for the German military service, along with his
good friend August Macke.
Marc kept kept a notebook with drawings for
the paintings he would create as soon as he
was done with the military.
Marc died in France on March 4, 1916.
13. Franz Marc Museum
A house that Marc lived in in Kochel-am-See
was made into a museum in 1986. It has about
twenty of his paintings, as well as numerous
sketches and drawings, and paintings by
other Blue Rider artists.