2nd Grade: Lesson 3 (January)

Art Masterpiece: Red Foxes (1913) by Franz Marc

Keywords: Color, Shape, Emotion

Activity: Create Your Own “Broken Glass” Animal Puzzle

• Franz Marc was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement. In Expressionism, the focus is on expressing feelings and moods rather than reproducing reality. Distortion of color and form is common. • Franz Marc was born in 1880 in Munich, Germany. His father, Wilhelm, was a professional landscape painter. • In 1900 Marc began to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 1903 and 1907, he spent time in Paris, France, visiting the city's museums and making copies of the paintings he saw. Copying the great artists’ work was a traditional way for artists to study and develop 2nd Grade: Lesson 3 (January)

technique. He was greatly inspired by the work of Vincent van Gogh. Marc became close friends with the artist August Macke, and also associated with Wassily Kandinsky and Robert Delaunay. • Marc served in the German Army as a cavalryman in WWI. He also painted camouflage canvas covers (for hiding artillery from aerial view). He died tragically in 1916 in the war when hit by enemy fire. • Marc made at least 60 prints in woodcut and lithography. Most of his work portrays animals, usually in natural settings. His work is characterized by bright primary color, an almost cubist portrayal of animals, stark simplicity and a profound sense of emotion. Even in his own time, his work attracted notice in influential circles. • Marc gave an emotional meaning or purpose to the colors he used in his work: blue was used to portray masculinity and spirituality, yellow represented feminine joy, and red encased the sound of violence.

About the Art:

• Red Fox was painted by Franz Marc in 1913, and is an oil painting on canvas. • In looking at the painting, you can see intensely colored geometric shapes comprising the majority of the painting. • The painting almost appears to be shattered glass, reassembled with some pieces appearing to be in the wrong location.

Possible Questions:

1) What colors do you see? Are the colors warm or cool? 2) What type of animal do you see? 3) What shapes do you see? How do the shapes combine to form the outline of the foxes and the background? 4) What kind of emotions do you feel when looking at the painting? 5) Does the painting look a little like broken “glass” or maybe a puzzle?

2nd Grade: Lesson 3 (January)

Activity: Create Your Own “Broken Glass” Animal Puzzle

1) Explain to the students that they will be creating their own “broken glass” style animal puzzle and will be given a box to keep their puzzle in. 2) Begin by passing out a piece of cardstock copied with the outline of a fox, a horse, or a wolf. Pass out crayons, and have the students color their pictures. Encourage them to use bright, bold colors. Allow only about 10 minutes for coloring so there is enough time for cutting. 3) After coloring, have the students turn their page over to the blank side. With a pencil and ruler, have them draw a variety of intersecting straight lines to create 10-12 geometric puzzle pieces such as squares, trapezoids, triangles, etc. This gives it a “broken glass” appearance. 4) After students are done drawing, pass out the scissors and have the students cut out their puzzles along the straight lines that they drew on the back of their papers. While the students are cutting, pass out the white boxes. Students can place their puzzle pieces in the box as they cut. Also pass out the corresponding small animal copies, and instruct the students to glue the small copy to their box lid with a glue stick. This serves as a guide when putting the puzzle together. 5) After cutting is complete, students can color the picture on their box lid with crayons (if time allows). They can also try putting their puzzles back together. Students should label their box with their name. 6) Collect the scissors, colored pencils, and rulers, and instruct the students to clean up any trash.

Materials Needed: • White cardstock copied with the outline of a Fox, a Horse, or a Wolf • Crayons • Pencils, rulers • Scissors • Small white boxes (if available) or small white paper bags • Small copy of animal to glue to white box/bag • Glue sticks 2nd Grade: Lesson 3 (January)

Artwork Examples: