The Dream 1912

Franz Marc made this painting, The Dream, with oil paint, but we don’t know when. See how the composition is arranged into these blocky shapes, almost like a stained-glass window? I think this gives a feeling of something very carefully pieced together, but in a childlike way. Take a look at the blues, pinks, and yellows, and the way Marc lets the paint sit on the surface. It isn’t trying to trick you into seeing real space. It is not window-like. Instead, it is about the feeling of the paint and the ways it becomes alive. Notice the texture of the lion in the bottom left, and the way it almost blends into the yellow of the house. I love how this area becomes a kind of microcosm for the whole painting, blending and blurring of forms, and a reminder of how seeing is really about feeling. Marc reminds me of Marsden Hartley, who also liked to work with big color and very intense subjects. Marc’s paintings can be taken so many ways, and that’s what makes them so great to look at.