Franz Marc (1880-1916). German Expressionist painter, whose full name is Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc. He was one of the founders of the art group Der Blaue Reiter. He had a long-term friendship with August Macke. By far, he most frequently painted animals (horses, deer and cats). He even bought and raised deer. He did not paint animals for zoological catalogues but sought to capture their spiritual essence. He used simple and often unnatural colours to convey emotion and the harmony of nature. He died in 1916 at the Battle of Verdun.