Fabulous Beast II 1913

Franz Marc made this small oil painting, Fabulous Beast II, at some point in his short life. It's a wild tumble of warm reds and oranges mixing with cooler blues and greens – like a landscape turned inside out. The paint handling is pretty direct, not too fussy, and you can see how he's layering colors to make this beast come alive. Look at the bottom right, at that sort of U shape in white and black. That mark pulls you in, like a dark gateway but its also a big joke! It makes me think of Picasso because he was trying to capture something essential, something beyond just what you see, but more what you FEEL. It's not about the finished painting as an object, it's about the possibilities of what paint can do. Ultimately, it's a reminder that art is an ongoing experiment, a continuous conversation across time.