GLOWEN, R.

VANGUARD (CANADA), VOL. 9, NO. 5-6 (SUMMER 1980), P. 14-19. 6 ILLUS. BIBLIOG.

THE AUTHOR TAKES ISSUE WITH THE ATTEMPTS TO 'RADICALLY ELEVATE' THE STATURE OF FRANZ MARC'S WORK IN THE EXHIBITION 'FRANZ MARC: PIONEER OF SPIRITUAL ABSTRACTION' DRAWN EXCLUSIVELY FROM PAINTINGS, PRINTS, ILLUSTRATIONS AND TEXTS FROM AMERICAN COLLECTIONS, WITH ITS ASSOCIATED CATALOGUE 'FRANZ MARC 1880-1916' (SEE ABM 12 6436 FOR ABSTRACT) AND THE BOOK 'THE APOCALYPTIC VISION: THE ART OF FRANZ MARC AS GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM' BY F. S. LEVINE (NEW YORK: HARPER AND ROW, 1979). LOOKING AT MARC'S SHORT LIFE, AND THE SPIRITUALLY INCLINED, CONTENT-FILLED BRANCH OF ABSTRACTION THAT HE HELPED TO ESTABLISH, THE AUTHOR DIFFERENTIATES THIS FROM HIS PLACEMENT SQUARELY WITHIN THE EXPRESSIONIST TRADITION, WITH DETAILED DISCUSSION OF HIS PAINTNGS DEPICTING ANIMALS. THE ASCRIBED VALUE OF MARC'S 1914 ABSTRACTIONS LIES IN THEIR INDICATION OF THE COURSE HE SET FOR HIMSELF AS ARTIST AND THEORETICIAN, AND IT CAN BE POSTULATED THAT HE PROGRESSED BEYOND EXPRESSIONISM. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDES THAT THE SEEDS OF PROGRAMMATIC RULES OF COLOUR AND FORM, COUPLED WITH THE ABSTRACTIONS, ASSIGN MARC TO THE HIGHER ECHELONS OF THE HIERARCHY OF MODERNIST ART.

Hauskeller, Michael

Munster (Germany), vol. 52, no. 2, 1999, pp. 168-77, 13 illus. (11 colour) bibliog

Examines the parameters of Christian art and considers the vizualization of the invisible and ineffable, with reference to paintings and objects dating from between the 9th and 20th centuries. The author explains why the means of treating religious themes, not the reliance on content alone, determines the Christianity of the work of art, and cites as an example the painting Die Gottesmutter verdrischt den Menschensohn vor drei Zeugen (Breton, Eluard, Ernst) (1926) by Max Ernst. He studies the varying ability of 20th century abstract works to convey spirituality and the invisible, with reference to paintings and writings by Franz Marc and Paul Klee, the monochrome works of Kasimir Malevich, Yves Klein, and Ad Reinhardt, and the object God (1918) by Morton Schamberg. He concludes by quoting the Canadian artist Betty Spackman on the limitations of art and the imposition placed on the artist to reveal God through his/her work.

Nobis, Beatrix

Kunst und AntiquitAOten (Germany), no. 12, Dec. 1994, pp. 40-3, (6 colour) bibliog

A discussion of artistic movements and subjects of debate in the early 20th century with particular reference to Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Franz Marc (1880-1916), and Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944). The author explains that the artists saw theosophy and anthroposophy as ways of investigating the subconscious, rendering the invisible visible, and overcoming reality. She discusses the `will to abstraction' shared by all three artists, cites Kandinsky's ideas on the intellectual content of and approach to art, and concludes that Symbolism and abstraction are not opposing positions from which to view reality.

BIRRINGER, J.

JOURNAL OF AESTHETICS AND ART CRITICISM (U.S.A.), VOL. 48, NO. 2 (WINTER 1983), P. 137-50. BIBLIOG.

DISCUSSES SOME OF THE ATTEMPTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE IN 20TH CENTURY AVANT-GARDE ART TOWARDS OPENING UP NEW VISTAS, NEW WAYS OF EXPERIENCING AND EXPRESSING THE NEED FOR SPIRITUALITY AND THE DESIRE TO TRANSCEND THE EXHAUSTED 'REALITY' OF A DANGEROUSLY MEANINGLESS EXISTENCE. ARTISTS DISCUSSED INCLUDE KASIMIR MALEVICH, PAUL KLEE, FRANZ MARC AND WASSILY KANDINSKY.

Martin, Gerhard Marcel; Dannowski, Hans Werner; Brandt, Henry G.; Massen, Karl-Josef; Robra, Barbara; Liebelt, Udo; Muller, Wolfgang Erich; Volp, Rainer; Kollmar, Peter

Hanover, Germany: Sprengel Museum Hannover. 2002, 144 pp. 16 illus. (12 colour) biog. bibliog. ISBN: 3-89169-167-X

A collection of religious commentaries on selected paintings and sculptures by 20th century artists in the collection of the Sprengel Museum Hannover in Hanover, Germany. There are 16 texts. Liebelt describes the public programme of artistic and religious dialogue organized by the Museum since 1983. Martin and Dannowski each consider the religious and artistic implications and cultural ramifications of the relocation of the ecumenical church service to the aesthetic environment of the art museum. There follow the texts of services conducted by Martin, Dannowski, Brandt, Massen, Robra, Liebelt, Muller, Volp, and Kollmar, in which they separately discuss the allegorical aspects of works by Arman, Jean Arp, Francis Bacon, Max Beckmann, Marc Chagall, Christo, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Nikolaus Lang, Franz Marc, Emil Nolde, Emil Schumacher, and Wolf Vostell.