Fauvism & Expressionism · 1911

Blue Horse I

Franz Marc 1880–1916

Blue Horse I (1911) by Franz Marc. Its palette is led by oatmeal (#c5a9a6, 12%) and light grey (#a5b5b9, 12%), with accents of muted blue, dark muted lime green, lime green and light lime yellow. Overall the canvas is light, vivid and balanced between warm and cool.

Color note

Marc gave colors meanings: in a 1910 letter to August Macke he called blue the masculine, spiritual principle, yellow the feminine and gentle one, and red heavy, brutal matter.

Palette

#4f6688 MG 097 muted blue 21.9% of canvas
#254439 MG 059 dark muted lime green 18.7% of canvas
#c5a9a6 MG 172 oatmeal 11.8% of canvas
#a5b5b9 MG 213 light grey 11.6% of canvas
#5c8042 MG 066 lime green 9.8% of canvas
#7d2f20 MG 147 rich sienna 9.3% of canvas
#b9b046 MG 043 light lime yellow 8.6% of canvas
#c9cdc8 MG 212 pale grey 8.3% of canvas

Color families

Blue 29%, Gray 18%, Red 14%, Green 14%, Brown 12%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.58
Contrast: 0.49
Vividness: 0.061
Warmth: +0.04
Complexity: 241 cells
Hue range: 0.82
Focus: 0.00

Composition

53% of the visual weight is in the left half, 58% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.55 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 7% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 34% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1911
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 112.0 × 84.5 cm
Genre: animal art
Collection: Lenbachhaus, Munich

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