Franz Marc, Gelbe Kuh, 1911, Stiftung Moritzburg, Kunstmuseum des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle. Photo Klaus Göltz
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Joseph Beuys, Elch, 1975, Farblithographie auf Papier, Deutsche Bank Collection. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2012
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Ewald Mataré, Kuh am Meer, ca. 1946, Aquarell über Bleistift, Museum Kurhaus Kleve – Ewald Mataré-Collection. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2012
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Franz Marc, Schwarze Kuh hinter Baum, 1913, Stiftung Moritzburg, Kunstmuseum des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt, Photo Klaus Göltz
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Franz Marc, Blaues Lamm, 1913, Franz Marc Museum, Kochel a. See. Photo Private Collection
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Nature as a sacred space, as a place of renewal and vitality - for the work of Franz Marc and Joseph Beuys, a connection to nature is of essential importance. Now an exhibition mounted by the ALTANA Cultural Foundation is juxtaposing works by these two artists for the first time. In addition, the show includes sculptures, prints and watercolors by Ewald Mataré, who as a contemporary of Marcs and teacher of Beuys links the two artists stylistically as well as in other ways. Deutsche Bank is supporting the project and loaned two Beuys lithographs from its collection for the exhibition, entitled Im Einklang mit der Natur - In Harmony with Nature.
Marc and Beuys demonstrate their affinity for nature in works that put all creaturely and plant life in a larger context. While the horse is a spiritual symbol in Marc's work, Beuys uses the stag, bee and hare - taken partly from Christian and partly from literary and biological contexts - as special symbols. In addition, the two share a belief in the transformative power of art, which Beuys converted into concrete political commitment - for example, in his environmental protection activities. Animals and landscapes are also key aspects of Mataré's work. He sought the greatest possible formal clarity and tried to express the essence of things through simplification and condensation. For Mataré, this could reveal the inner order of nature, which was also of crucial importance for Franz Marc and Joseph Beuys. The exhibition In Harmony with Nature illustrates numerous formal and content-related commonalities in the work of the three artists. At the same time, it shows how crucial the theme of nature was for the 20th-century artistic avant-garde.
Franz Marc, Joseph Beuys and Ewald Mataré
Im Einklang mit der Natur - In Harmony with Nature
December 9, 2011 - February 12, 2012
ALTANA Cultural Foundation
Sinclair House, Bad Homburg von der Höhe
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