Two Horses: Red and Blue is a pictorial art work of an animal painting by Franz Marc done in 1912. Franz Marc was a German painter and print maker based in Munich. His father was a great painter and he tried to influence him to also become a painter but he chose to do theology and philosophy (Partsch and Marc 37). He is described as an impressionist as his work was mainly influenced by the work of other artists that he met like Kandinsky who used to paint from the spiritual side of nature. Marc, on the other hand, angled his work on the spiritual nature of man. As his work was mostly spiritual in nature, he used animals as opposed to human beings since he believed that they were more pure and beautiful than humans; as such, they are closer to nature. This is a critical analysis of the animal painting from a viewer’s point of view.
As indicated earlier, the painting, Two Horses: Red and Blue, has a portrait layout and measures 44.4 cm in width and 38.1 cm in length. It is a picture painting of two horses: one red and the other one blue surrounded by various colors that are separated by thin contour lines that merge the subjects with the space around them. The two horses are put in an open landscape that has grass, which represents their close proximity with nature. The artist used a large stroke brush that does not fuse completely giving the painting a dry and contoured appearance that has uniform lines. There are stars on the background and a half moon; all this signifies a sense of spirituality.
The red horse seems at peace and is very calm while the blue horse is restless and seems to be in search of something. The painter uses a combination of both bright and dull colors, which aptly convey emotions and feeling. The red horse is resting facing right while the blue horse is facing backwards. The blue horse occupies the upper quarter of the left side of the pictorial. The two forms meet at the right vertical tension field between natural points of interest.
As stated earlier, Franz Marc is well known as an impressionist painter and the founder of The Blue Rider. As such, he used expressionism as a means of portraying emotions rather than describing the material world of appearance. His intention was to detach himself from the material world that was unrealistic and follow the spirituality of revealing the inner truth and feelings of man (Morgan 320). He focused on creating his work as reflections of his own emotions rather than relations of the visual appearances of objects. This is intently evident in his painting, Two Horses: Red and Blue. The blue horse is bright and candid surrounded by green, yellow and red colors which blend well giving the pictorial some form of dynamism. Transparent water color on paper is used to give a dry texture that is appealing to the viewer. The artwork is exhibited in the Rhode Island School of Design museum for public viewing in a very distinctive way that attracts the attention of the viewer.
Marc strongly believed in the need for true art to depict the spiritual dimension of reality. According to him, emotions could be expressed better through animal drawings as the subject matter. In this regard, therefore, most of his work was highly influenced by his love and empathy for animals. He brings out these sentiments with his prime choice of emotive colors such as that evident in his painting, Two Horses: Red and Blue. This painting has a balanced composition that is highly patternised with vibrant primary colors which are combined in a coherent manner giving the painting a bright and recognizable look. One the distinct characteristic of this painting of the two horses, and which gives it its title is that one horse is blue and the other is red. Blue, according to Franz, symbolized spirituality and masculinity while red signified calmness (Read 230). As an artist, he also seeks to express the equality between man and animals as they have they both originated from nature.
The painting is set on a natural background which shows creativity and at the same time portraying simplicity. The viewer is able to connect with this piece of art and also contemplate on the spiritual beauty that is depicted by the author. The viewer can easily identify with the animal as their viewpoint is mostly at the level of the animal and they thus become part of the work; as such, they have a chance to get closer to the animal painting and experience its beauty. In Marc’s painting, the animals are clearly centralized in the picture plane with dominant curved lines, which creates a sense of harmony, piece and balance. This complements the spiritual force of nature that is represented well by use landscape background in a harmonious way.
Franz Marc uses the Cubism art movement style which was commonly used in European painting and sculptures (Behrens 23). This style provides several viewpoints for the artwork giving it a greater context. The painting marked the start of his maturity as most of his paintings done around this time were much bigger and colors were utilized more freely. He, however, used a more modern approach by using simplified lines and vivid colors. The use of bright and strong colors makes an impression on the mind of the viewer and also attracts attention. The artist further uses space without depth in order to link the subject with the landscape.
Another approach to analyzing the painting is from the perspective of what the objects represent. The painting has two horses which express two kinds of emotions. As highlighted earlier, the red horse is at peace and calm while the blue horse seems agitated and restless. This form of abstraction is used as an expression of the complexities of human emotions. The curving on the horses’ neck further symbolizes their spiritual harmony with their environment. It is also evident that Marc was highly influenced by religious transcendence as most of his work depicted emotions of human suffering and oppression. He portrayed these using colors, shapes and varied lines. He demonstrated how art can use animals to bring harmony into the more chaotic world.
The perspective of the viewer is on the level of one the higher one third of the painting. The earthly red horse occupies the bottom portion of the pictorial space. The surrounding has a mix of colors from yellow, green, blue and red. Blue is the dominant color in the pictorial which is a sigh of strength and greatness; it portrays some form of male firmness and elegancy. The yellow color surrounding the horses represents femininity, softness and joy and conveys the tender and quiet characteristics of a woman. The blue horse is looking away from the red horse which could be the fact that it is a protector of the red feminine horse.
There are lines that separate the different portions of the pictorial forming varied angular shapes. In addition to yellow, there are highlights of green and red. The green color creates some harmony between them while red portrays power. Each of the colors represents emotional qualities and has an intended effect on the final work; it makes the work more appealing and attractive to the viewer on first sight. The use of the four colors depicts the painter as someone who has understood and comprehended the spiritual world. The colors complement each other in a simple and pure manner creating a sense of order.
The use of both cold and hot colors gives the pictorial a clear contrast. The earthly red horses and the blue one are very distinctive. This gives a harmonious relationship with the environment and depicts a sense of freedom. Light is produced by the bright color zones like yellow and the green highlights. A close look at the picture evokes feelings of domination of one of the subjects over the other. The blue horse representing masculinity seems to be in charge and in control. It is acting as the protector of the resting earthly red horse.
Works Cited
Behrens, Roy R. False Colors: Art, Design and Modern Camouflage. Dysart, IA: Bobolink Books, 2002. Print.
Morgan, David. The Enchantment of Art: Abstraction and Empathy from German Romanticism to Expressionism. Journal of the History of Ideas 57.2 (1996): 317-34. Web. 6 Dec 2012.
Partsch, Susanna and Marc, Franz. Franz Marc: 1880-1916. Cologne, Germany: Taschen, 2001. Print.
Read, Herbert Edward. The Meaning of Art. London, UK: Textbook Publishers, 2003. Print.
