The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 4, 2026

A vertically oriented woodcut print is filled with overlapping organic shapes in black, muted green, and pale yellow. A dark, pointed form rests beneath a yellow crescent at the upper left. Swirling green bands, large black circles, and frenetic lines dominate the composition. Repeating patterns of stripes and semi-circles weave through the dense, layered forms. Pale yellow shapes emerge from dark, chaotic masses to suggest rhythmic movement across off-white paper.

Genesis II

1914

Franz Marc

(German, 1880–1916)
Germany, 20th century
color woodcut
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1959.228
Catalogue raisonné: Lankheit p.273, n. 843 ; Schardt VII.1914.2
Location: Not on view

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.
  • Peters, Emily J. "Graphic Discontent: The German Expressionists strove for spontaneity and unexpected results.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 58. no. 1 (January/February 2018): Cover, 5-7, 22. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 6 archive.org
    Ellcock, Stephen. The Book of Change: Images to Inspire Revelations and Revolutions. London: September Publishing, 2021. Reproduced: p. 30
  • Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).
    Eastward from the Rhine: Romanticism to Abstraction, 1800-1925. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 12-September 9, 1984).
    German Expressionist Graphics. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 7-October 5, 1980).
    Space and Modern Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 9-September 25, 1966).
    Gifts of The Print Club of Cleveland During its Second Twenty Years (1960). The Cleveland Museum of Art.
  • {{cite web|title=Genesis II|url=false|author=Franz Marc|year=1914|access-date=04 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1959.228