''Yellow Cow'' (german: Gelbe Kuh) is a painting by the German artist
Franz Marc, dating to 1911. It is one of the artist's most well known works, and is one of several of his depictions of animals in
Expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
style. This work is oil on canvas and measures 140.5 x 189.2 centimeters. The central motif of the painting is a jumping cow, surrounded by a colorful, structured landscape. The painting is characterized by the contrast between the dynamic central motif and the calm background.
The painting is in the collection of the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1937 by philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and his long-time art advisor, artist Hilla von Rebay. The foundation is a leading institution for the collection, preserv ...
and has been shown at the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...
in
New York.
Colour
''Yellow Cow'' dates to Marc's formative phase, during which he developed the ''Farbsymbolik'' (colour symbolism) that permeates the painting. For Marc, blue was equated with spirituality and maleness, yellow with femininity and sensuality, and red with the earth. The colours in the painting should therefore not be taken as naturalistic, but rather, as symbolically representing the sense of the objects in the work.
Marc's use of colour (in this work and others) was greatly influenced by the Russian painter
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
.
Interpretations
According to art historian Mark Rosenthal, ''Yellow Cow'' can be seen as a veiled depiction of Marc's wife, Maria Franck, whom he married the same year the painting was created.
See also
*
List of works by Franz Marc
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Cow
1911 paintings
Paintings by Franz Marc
Paintings in the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Cattle in art