Wild Pigs (Boar and sow) 1913

Curator: We’re looking at Franz Marc’s “Wild Pigs (Boar and sow),” created in 1913, a part of the collection at Museum Ludwig. Editor: My first impression is how strangely calming this vibrant chaos is. It is not your traditional pastoral scene. The bold colors shouldn't work, yet they pull you in. Curator: It is not a pastoral scene, is it? Marc employed Fauvist techniques of arbitrary color and bold abstraction in a symbolic attempt to express the inner lives of animals. What feelings or archetypes do the blue hogs evoke for you? Editor: Blue often symbolizes tranquility and contemplation, right? Placing it on wild animals known for their primal instincts creates a deliberate contrast. It’s as if Marc is attempting to depict a harmonious, internal world, contrasting the "wildness" in the title. See how he simplified form creates a near-geometric rendering, with planes of color defining the subjects. Curator: He believed animals lived more authentic and "pure" lives than humans. I read the blue as spirituality and empathy, suggesting Marc hoped humanity might aspire to that simpler state. Consider also how flowers often carry a symbol of vulnerability and beauty. He sets off their brutish presence in a surrounding of beauty and delicacy. Editor: And speaking of color: that yellow flower jumps right out against the green backdrop, focusing the composition on the sows posture in that field, surrounded by an expressive darkness in the background. The composition feels quite innovative when you remember its pre-war context, using expressive form that almost touches pure abstraction. Curator: The approaching war heavily influenced Expressionist painters in Germany at this time. Perhaps this juxtaposition symbolizes a longing for peace, even innocence, amid coming turmoil. I like how the plants almost seem to guard them. Editor: So in looking closely, a seeming chaotic clash becomes quite refined and conceptually deep, I see why Franz Marc has endured as more than just shock value. It rewards repeated observation. Curator: Indeed. And recognizing the historical context gives added weight to what would appear initially as just two sleeping wild pigs. This shows art carries more than just colors and form, but memories and stories, too.