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Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
Email: [email protected] / Phone: +44 7429 011000

August Macke paintings provided the perfect balance between a variety of different art movements, including Expressionism, Post-Impressionism and Fauvism. He worked with both oils and watercolours and his signature style relied heavily on his strong ability with colour.

This famous German artist captured life in Europe at that time, mainly focusing on one's leisure time pursuits. You will find women enjoying some retail therapy, families in the park, at the theatre or even at the circus. This content forms the majority of his overall oeuvre, though several foreign trips would append extra themes to his career later on. Though losing his life to war at a relatively young age, Macke was still able to output a large number of high quality oil and watercolour paintings in a short space of time.

Followers of German and Swiss art will immediately see the influence of Franz Marc and Paul Klee. The latter himself was devoted to colour theory and would have found a very likeminded individual in Macke, whom he knew very well. Their watercolours in North Africa have clear similarities and it can be considered that the influence flowed in both directions. Franz Marc was more of an expressionist artist and his method of capturing figures and animals with relatively little detail can also be found in Macke's style.

The likes of Kandinsky, Marc and Klee were involved in several different art movements in Germany which attempted to set up an established base for new modern art styles to flourish. They consistently battled amongst each other and with many other members over the direction of each of these groups but it was to be the Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) which made the greatest impact. It was at that point that August Macke started to truly respect the Kandinsky's paintings, having originally been unsure about some of his work. This group discovered a relative calm and common direction which was to be one of its advantages.

There was a rise in the avant-garde across Europe during this period and an artist had to choose which elements to incorporate into their work and which to ignore. Macke somehow managed to find a balance between several different movements, whilst still keeping his work relatively unique. Fauvism was a movement known almost exclusively for its use of vibrant colours and the connection to August Macke's paintings is immediately obvious. The finest exponent in that group would have to be Henri Matisse, whose name requires no introduction. He concentrated predominantly on domestic scenes in southern France, where light could saturate the canvas.

Across in Russia there was also a hive of artistic activity which Macke was aware of but perhaps not as influenced by in quite the same way as the other movements mentioned here. The Avant-Garde included Kazimir Malevich, with his Black Square and Black Cross, whilst El Lissitzky was also highly respected. Kandinsky himself helped to bridge this gap, having originally been born in Russia himself and also being involved in plenty of abstract work.

Just prior to the artist's most successful period he would have a significant meeting with fellow artist, Robert Delaunay in Paris in 1912. This introduced him to a style known as chromatic Cubism, developed by the Parisien himself, which Macke took into some of his own paintings. Besides Paris, his trips also took him to Italy, the Netherlands and Tunisia. The breadth of his career is listed in full in this section which attempts to draw together each and every one of his paintings, displaying all the various influences in one place. His career is an excellent blend of all manner of major art movements of that period and his skill in fusing them together successfully was perhaps his best strength.


Three Girls in Yellow Straw Hats I August Macke
Three Girls in Yellow Straw Hats I
Garden Restaurant August Macke
Garden Restaurant
Vegetable Fields August Macke
Vegetable Fields
Large Bright Shop Window August Macke
Large Bright Shop Window
Terrace of the Country House in St Germain August Macke
Terrace of the Country House in St Germain
Two Women in Front of a Hat Shop August Macke
Two Women in Front of a Hat Shop
Coloured Composition of Forms August Macke
Coloured Composition of Forms
Landscape with Cows and Camel August Macke
Landscape with Cows and Camel
St Mary's with Houses and Chimney, Bonn August Macke
St Mary's with Houses and Chimney, Bonn
Woman with a Yellow Jacket August Macke
Woman with a Yellow Jacket
Self Portrait August Macke
Self Portrait
Self Portrait with Hat August Macke
Self Portrait with Hat
The Church of St Mary in Bonn in Snow August Macke
The Church of St Mary in Bonn in Snow
Church Decorated with Flags August Macke
Church Decorated with Flags
Kairouan I August Macke
Kairouan I
Rocky Landscape August Macke
Rocky Landscape
Street with Church in Kandern August Macke
Street with Church in Kandern
Landscape near Hammamet August Macke
Landscape near Hammamet
Anglers on the Rhine August Macke
Anglers on the Rhine
Still Life with Tulips August Macke
Still Life with Tulips
Three Women at the Table by the Lamp August Macke
Three Women at the Table by the Lamp
Still Life Hyacinths Carpet August Macke
Still Life Hyacinths Carpet
House in the Garden August Macke
House in the Garden
Woman with Fishbowl August Macke
Woman with Fishbowl
Hussars on a Sortie August Macke
Hussars on a Sortie
Sailing Boat on the Tegernsee August Macke
Sailing Boat on the Tegernsee
A Glance down an Alley August Macke
A Glance down an Alley
Afternoon in the Garden August Macke
Afternoon in the Garden
At the Cemetery August Macke
At the Cemetery
At the Rhine near Hersel August Macke
At the Rhine near Hersel
Big Zoo Triptych August Macke
Big Zoo Triptych
Blue Parrots August Macke
Blue Parrots
Bright House August Macke
Bright House
Bright Woman in Front of a Hat Store August Macke
Bright Woman in Front of a Hat Store
Cathedral of Freiburg August Macke
Cathedral of Freiburg
Children and Sunny Trees August Macke
Children and Sunny Trees
Children at the Fountain August Macke
Children at the Fountain
Children at the Grocery Store August Macke
Children at the Grocery Store
Circus August Macke
Circus
Colour Circle August Macke
Colour Circle
Colourful Shapes I August Macke
Colourful Shapes I
Colourful Shapes II August Macke
Colourful Shapes II
Couple in the Woods August Macke
Couple in the Woods
Dealer with Jugs August Macke
Dealer with Jugs
Elisabeth Gerhard Sewing August Macke
Elisabeth Gerhard Sewing
Elisabeth von Schreibtisch August Macke
Elisabeth von Schreibtisch
Farbige Formen III August Macke
Farbige Formen III
Farewell August Macke
Farewell
Fashion Store August Macke
Fashion Store
Fashion Window August Macke
Fashion Window
Female Nude at a Knited Carpet August Macke
Female Nude at a Knited Carpet
Gartentor August Macke
Gartentor
Gelbes Segel August Macke
Gelbes Segel
Girl in the Greenery August Macke
Girl in the Greenery
Gorge August Macke
Gorge
House in a Landscape August Macke
House in a Landscape
Hutladen III August Macke
Hutladen III
In Front of the Hat Shop Woman with Red Jacket and Child August Macke
In Front of the Hat Shop Woman with Red Jacket and Child
In the Temple Hall August Macke
In the Temple Hall
Indianer August Macke
Indianer
Inner Courtyard of House in St Germain August Macke
Inner Courtyard of House in St Germain
Kairouan III August Macke
Kairouan III
Kinder am Brunnen II August Macke
Kinder am Brunnen II
Landschaft am Tegernsee mit Lesendem Mann August Macke
Landschaft am Tegernsee mit Lesendem Mann
Little Walter's Toys August Macke
Little Walter's Toys
Man with Donkey August Macke
Man with Donkey
Native Americans on Horses August Macke
Native Americans on Horses
On the Street August Macke
On the Street
Our Street with Horse Riding, Bonn August Macke
Our Street with Horse Riding, Bonn
Parkway August Macke
Parkway
Picnic on the Beach August Macke
Picnic on the Beach
Promenade August Macke
Promenade
Reading Man in Park August Macke
Reading Man in Park
Reclining Female Nude August Macke
Reclining Female Nude
Red House in the Park August Macke
Red House in the Park
Riders and Walkers at a Parkway August Macke
Riders and Walkers at a Parkway
Rokoko August Macke
Rokoko
Salto Mortale in Circus August Macke
Salto Mortale in Circus
Satire to the Blue Rider August Macke
Satire to the Blue Rider
Seated Female with a Pillow August Macke
Seated Female with a Pillow
St George August Macke
St George
St Germain near Tunis August Macke
St Germain near Tunis
Staudacher's House at the Tegernsee August Macke
Staudacher's House at the Tegernsee
Still Life with Bowl of Apples and Japanese Fan August Macke
Still Life with Bowl of Apples and Japanese Fan
Still Life with Pillow with Deer Decor and a Bouquet August Macke
Still Life with Pillow with Deer Decor and a Bouquet
Stroller August Macke
Stroller
Tegernsee Landscape August Macke
Tegernsee Landscape
The Artist's Wife in Blue Hat August Macke
The Artist's Wife in Blue Hat
The Church of St Mary in Bonn in Snow August Macke
The Church of St Mary in Bonn in Snow
The Storm August Macke
The Storm
Three Acts August Macke
Three Acts
Tunis Landscape with a Sedentary Arabs August Macke
Tunis Landscape with a Sedentary Arabs
Turkish Cafe, Mejorado August Macke
Turkish Cafe, Mejorado
Turkish Jewellery Dealer August Macke
Turkish Jewellery Dealer
Two Girls August Macke
Two Girls
Untitled August Macke
Untitled
View into a Lane August Macke
View into a Lane
View of Tegernsee August Macke
View of Tegernsee
Walk in Flowers August Macke
Walk in Flowers
Woman with Pitcher under Trees August Macke
Woman with Pitcher under Trees