Deer in the Forest II 1914

Franz Marc made this painting, Deer in the Forest II, with oil on canvas. It’s all blocks of colour, like he’s building up this scene, the deer and the forest, from simple shapes. Imagine Marc, puzzling over this canvas. I do that myself. What do you put next to what? How can the painting breathe? He’s laid down these greens and blues, these strong reds. What does it mean to call something blue? Or green? Or deer? I mean, that blue deer, those yellow ears! But there’s also this feeling of care that comes through in the painting. The colours create shapes and feeling and the painting itself becomes a place, an experience that we share in. It’s like we’re all in it, painter and deer and us. It's like a conversation, a puzzle, all at once.