Marie Schnür, or Marie Marc-Schnür, (19 February 1869, Krien – 16 February 1934, Swinemünde) was a German painter, illustrator and

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

maker. From 1907 to 1908, she was married to the painter

Franz Marc Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc (8 February 1880 – 4 March 1916) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider), a journal whose name later b ...

Biography

She was one of five daughters born to a wealthy family from

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

, on a large estate, the garden house of which is still preserved as a historical monument. She attended the art school operated by the "Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen" (Association of Women Artists), where her primary instructor was the sculptor Conrad Fehr. She also studied in Munich with

Ludwig Schmid-Reutte Ludwig Schmid-Reutte (13 January 1863 - 13 November 1909) was a Germany naturalist painter. Biography Ludwig Schmid-Reutte was born in Lechaschau, a mountain village to the west of Garmisch and Innsbruck. Franz Anton Schmid, his father, was a ...

and Wilhelm Dürr.Selection from ''Franz Marc: Die Träume und das Leben - Biographie''
by Brigitte Roßbeck, Siedler Verlag, 2015 . After that, she became an illustrator, doing books and sheet music and working for the magazine '' Jugend'', where her works often appeared on the front page. Her career advanced through her friendship with the artist, and her participation in an art group known as "Die Scholle". She was also part of the circle around Countess Marion Kaulitz (1865-?), a maker of artistic dolls that are now rare collector's items. Schnür made several of her own that were displayed at the Warenhaus Tietz, a famous department store in Berlin. She was also an instructor at the "Women's Academy" of the "Münchner Künstlerinnenverein", where she taught

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

painting. It was there that she met Franz Marc and Bertha Marie Franck, a student who would become Marc's second wife. They spent the summer of 1906 together, at Marc's home in

Kochel am See Kochel am See is a municipality and a town in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria, on the shores of Kochelsee. The municipality consists of the districts Altjoch, Brunnenbach, Ort, Pessenbach, Pfisterberg, Walchensee and Ried. ...

, possibly engaged in a

ménage à trois A () is a domestic arrangement and committed relationship with three people in polyamorous romantic or sexual relations with each other, and often dwelling together; typically a traditional marriage between a man and woman along with anothe ...

. Earlier that year, Schnür had secretly given birth to a son (Klaus) in Paris; probably from a relationship with the artist

Angelo Jank Angelo Jank (30 October 1868 in Munich – 9 October 1940 in Munich) was a German animal painter, illustrator and member of the Munich Secession. He was the son of the German painter Christian Jank and specialized in scenes with horses and rider ...

, although some sources point to , a medical student who would later become known for his exposé of crimes committed against German

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

s during World War I. At first, she was forced to leave Klaus with her parents in Swinemünde, but accepted an offer from Marc to enter into a

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. There are ...

so she could gain custody.Brigitte Salmen, ''Maria Marc. Leben und Lebenswerk'', from: ''Maria Marc im Kreis des "Blauen Reiter"'' (Maria Franck, exhibition catalog), Schloßmuseum Murnau, 2004. After only a year, she divorced Marc, charging him with

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, and thereby prevented him from marrying Franck until 1911, because a Dispensation (canon law), dispensation was required. Not long after the divorce, she went to Swinemünde to live with her family. After that point, little is known about her, although ''Jugend'' published what may have been new artwork by her in 1916 and 1918.

Illustrations from ''Jugend''

Digitalized by the Heidelberg University Library
No.25, 1901No.28, 1901No.15, 1902N0.39, 1902No.43, 1902No.13, 1904No.21, 1904No.30, 1904N0.12, 1905No.20, 1905

References

External links

Letters from Franz Marc to Marie Schnür
@ Zeno {{DEFAULTSORT:Schnur, Marie 1869 births 1934 deaths 19th-century German painters German illustrators People from Vorpommern-Greifswald 20th-century German painters Franz Marc