Five Outstanding Works of Art That Deserve Your Attention

Dip into lesser-known but splendid paintings

Guitar on Table (1915) by Juan Gris. Oil on canvas. 73 × 92 cm. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands. Image source WikiArt

Some works of art are famous; many are less so. Here I’ve selected five exceptional paintings that are worth lingering over.

Enjoy!

The Fate of the Animals by Franz Marc

The Fate of the Animals (1913) Franz Marc. Oil on canvas. 194.3 × 261.6 cm. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Image source WikiArt

Look closely at this pulsating painting and you’ll see an entire forest of animals and birds. The artist has splintered the image into an array of trembling, shivering facets, each of which reveals a creature or plant of the natural world.

Most famous for his images of brightly coloured horses, Franz Marc sought to represent the energy of nature in visual form. He was born in Munich in 1880. Along with his friend Wassily Kandinsky he founded Der Blaue Reiter (“The Blue Rider”), a group that celebrated the use of abstracted forms and bold colours as conduits of spiritual energy.

Detail of ‘The Fate of the Animals’ (1913) Franz Marc. Oil on canvas. 194.3 × 261.6 cm. Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Image source WikiArt