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This woodcut by Franz Marc is hand signed in pencil by the artist’s wife “Maria Marc”, verso. The paper also bears the violet inkstamp, verso “Handdruck vom Originalholzstock bastaetigt:” (Lugt 1782 b) that confirms that work has been printed by hand. It was printed for inclusion in December edition of the third year of “Der Sturm” in 1912. The composition served as the frontispiece for this 140/141 edition. Other impressions of this work can be found in the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München and the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.
Note: Franz Marc and the scarcity of his surviving works are considered quite precious amongst collectors of German Expressionism. The artist was killed in action during the battle of Verdun in 1916. He volunteered in 1914 to fight for the German Imperial Army and became a cavalryman. Incredibly, despite the circumstances, he kept his artistic skills in check by painting camouflage for artillery positions. In a letter to his wife, the artist Maria Marc, he recounted how he had completed nine such canvas coverings in the styles of artists like Manet and Kandinsky, this was in an effort to deduce which was the more successful in creating the illusion – he settled on a pointillist style for the rest. This composition is directly related to one of the artist’s most celebrated paintings, Der Stier [The Bull] from the previous year, held by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York
Literature: Lankheit, K. (1970). Franz Marc: Katalog der Werke. Cologne: DuMont Schauberg.
Reference: Lankheit 827.II
Condition: Very good condition. Very minor staining along the edges of the black ink.
