Franz Marc, born in 1880, in Deutschland - Germany - Munich.
His father, Wilhelm, was a professional painter too, maily landscapes.
Franz Marc studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1900.
In 1903 and 1907 he spent time in Paris and discovered a strong affinity for the work of Vincent van Gogh.
Franz Marc developed an important friendship with the artist August Macke in 1910.
In 1911 they formed the Blue Horseman - Der Blaue Reiter artist circle with Macke, Wassily Kandinsky, and other artists who decided to split off from the Neue Künstlervereinigung ( the new art movement )
He showed several of his painting in the first Der Blaue Reiter exhibition at the Thannhauser Galleries in Munich
The exhibition was the apex of the German expressionist movement and also showed in other mayor German cities In 1912.
Marc also knew Robert Delaunay, whose use of color and futurist method was a major influence on Marc's work.
Marc became influenced by futurism and cubism, and his art became stark and abstract in nature.
His name was on a list of notable artists to be withdrawn from combat in World War I. Before the orders were carried out, he was struck in the head and killed instantly by a shell splinter during the Battle of Verdun (1916).
