The original painting by Franz Marc, titled "The Yellow Cow", depicts a smiling yellow cow against a backdrop of triangular blue mountains. Marc's wife Maria had a happy personality, so the cow may symbolize her. The diagonal lines behind the cow convey a sense of energy. Students are tasked with copying the outline of the painting but changing the lines, shapes, and colors to convey a different emotion. They will be graded based on how well they use visual elements to symbolize the new emotion and the technical skills in their rendition.

1. The Yellow Cow
by
Franz Marc
1880-1917

2. Franz Marc
devoted himself
almost
exclusively to
painting
animals in
nature.

3. In 1911 Franz Marc
married a lady called
Maria Frank. Maria
had a happy
personality. The
frolicking yellow cow
may be a symbol of
Maria Frank.

4. The triangular blue
mountains in the
background could
represent Marc.
Notice that the cow is
in the shape of a
smile and that Franz
Marc has placed
diagonal lines behind
the cow to give the
picture a more
energetic feeling.

5. Franz Marc
believed that
animals were pure
in nature, not like
people who are
capable of doing
terrible things.
Dog Lying in the Snow 1910.

6. Marc
developed a
theory of
colour
Symbolism.
Fighting Forms 1914.

7. For Marc, different
colors could represent
different emotions.
What emotions do
you think his paintings
convey?
Look at the images
that appear and try
and place an emotion
with each one.
The Lamb 1914.The fate of Animals 1913Foxes 1913
The Tiger 1914

8. At the time that these
works were painted
World War one was
taking place. This war
effected millions of
people and for the
first time many
people were touched
by the senseless
killing of so many
innocent people on
such a large scale.

9. Marc not only used
colors to symbolised
emotion he used the
animals themselves to
symbolise aspects of
peoples personalities to
show how people felt in
the war as well as at
other times
What emotion is the
deer feeling? How does
he convey this feeling?
How does this relate to
how people were feeling
in the world at that
time?
The Frightened Deer. 1913

10. Colors, lines and shapes can
symbolise emotion
Feeling Color Shape/Line
RED
Angr
y

11. Your task.
Look closely at the picture
of
The Yellow Cow.
Think of how you could use
the same objects in the
picture but by changing their
line, shape and color you can
change the feeling and the
meaning of the work.
Now
Copy the picture carefully
using outline only but change
the picture so it will convey
another emotion.

12. The colours in
this picture tend
to be more red so
it will convey a
feeling of anger
or energy.
Also the cows
shape has been
distorted so it
follows a
diagonal line
therefore giving a
sense of
movement.

13. You must follow this criteria.
• Marking criteria.
• Total marks 30. Date due week 4. term 2
• Materials to be used. Pencil to draw outlines.
Watercolour to fill in the picture. Must be as big as the
page with a 5cm boarder around the picture,
• The picture must be neatly presented in your art book.
• You will be marked on how well you use line, shape and
colour to symbolise an emotion. (10 marks)
• and
• how well you draw and paint the image. You will be
expected to use chiaroscuro to make the picture look 3
dimensional.