Jumping Dog Schlick

Looking at Jumping Dog Schlick

A small, shaggy dog springs forward through a pale green field. Its paws reach toward the lower edge, while the raised tail and loose fur give the body a quick, lively movement. Franz Marc painted Jumping Dog “Schlick” (Springender Hund 'Schlick') in 1908. The Lenbachhaus in Munich holds it as G 11481. This is an early work in which an individual animal, named in the title, is still set in an observed landscape. ^[1]

Watch: Franz Marc

Explore Marc’s blue horses, the Blue Rider circle and the move towards abstraction in English-language videos.

Franz Marc, Blue Horses and Der Blaue Reiter

The Canvas

An English-language introduction to Marc’s blue horses, animals, spirituality and the Blue Rider.

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▶01 · Marc and his horsesFranz Marc, Blue Horses and Der Blaue ReiterThe Canvas▶02 · The Blue RiderWho were the Blue Rider?Tate▶03 · Towards abstractionThe Case for AbstractionThe Art Assignment · PBS Digital Studios

Movement in a modest picture

The painting is oil on card, 55 × 68 cm. Marc lets the dog's light body stand out against the loosely painted green and ochre ground. Its face turns slightly toward us even as the body moves sideways. The rapid marks around the fur and grass carry the sensation of motion; the animal does not have to be suspended high in the air to feel active. The museum image is lighter and less saturated than some older reproductions, so colour should be read from the identified object rather than a heavily altered copy. ^[1]

The name “Schlick” distinguishes this dog from Marc's other canine subjects. In Dog Lying in the Snow, a different dog, Russi, rests amid more simplified blue and white forms around 1911. The comparison makes Marc's change in approach visible: Schlick is described with quick, earthy marks, while the later snow painting gives animal and setting a stronger shared pattern. These are different animals, pictures and moods. ^{[1] [2]}

The Lenbachhaus acquired Jumping Dog “Schlick” in 1954. Its catalogue also records a difficult-to-read inscription near a lower corner, which should not be treated as a clear, dated signature. The sure anchors are the museum's title, medium, dimensions and acquisition number. Look at the line from the dog's extended front legs to its lifted tail: Marc builds a small arc of movement without yet turning the scene into the large coloured structures of his better-known horses. ^[1]