Artwork Page for Tiger

Details / Information for Tiger

Tiger

1912

Franz Marc

(German, 1880–1916)
Culture
Germany, 20th century
Medium
woodcut
Credit Line
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1961.157
Catalogue raisonné
Lankheit p.269, n. 833
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Like other members of Der Blaue Reiter in Munich, Franz Marc focused on depicting animals, which symbolized joyous rebirth. Genesis II was made to illustrate the creation story in the book of Genesis; he planned to include it in an illustrated Bible. Here, three horses emerge from a background of chaos and movement. His Tiger is less joyous and more threatening than the bounding horses; with clenched teeth, the tiger leers toward a cowering animal behind it. After enthusiastically enlisting in the German army, Marc died in battle at Verdun, France, on March 4, 1916. His wartime death—and that of fellow artist August Macke—had a profound impact on the Munich Expressionists, whose vision of an earthly paradise quickly dissolved.
A horizontally oriented print in black ink depicts a stylized tiger and cub among foliage. The large tiger curves through the center, its head facing left and striped tail curling along the bottom. A radial pattern of lines fills the central void, while a smaller tiger curls in the upper right. Bold stripes and jagged lines create a high-contrast scene where organic shapes and thick patterns overlap.

Tiger

1912

Franz Marc

(German, 1880–1916)
Germany, 20th century

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