Franz Marc (1880–1916) was a pioneering German Expressionist painter best known for his vivid, emotionally charged depictions of animals. A co-founder of the influential "Der Blaue Reiter" (The Blue Rider) group alongside Wassily Kandinsky, Marc sought to express spiritual truths through color and form. His work features bold colors, simplified shapes, and dynamic compositions, often portraying horses, deer, and other animals as symbols of purity and harmony in contrast to the chaos of human society. Influenced by Cubism and Fauvism, Marc developed a unique style that merged abstraction with deep symbolism. He believed blue symbolized masculinity and spirituality, yellow femininity and joy, and red violence. Marc’s career was tragically cut short when he died in World War I at the age of 36. Despite his short life, his visionary works left a lasting impact on modern art.