Two Women on the Hillside

Looking at Two Women on the Hillside

Two women rest outdoors in Franz Marc’s Two Women on the Hillside (Zwei Frauen am Berg). One sits upright in a dark jacket and pale dress; the other bends toward the grass beneath a broad striped hat. The Bavarian State Painting Collections date the work to 1906 and record it on paper/card, 16 × 24.6 cm, inventory 14970. It belongs to the Franz Marc Museum in Kochel am See. ^[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.

Watch on YouTube

▶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

A small outdoor scene

Loose strokes describe the meadow, distant ridge and pale sky. The women have recognisable clothing and gestures, yet many edges are made from touches of colour rather than firm outlines. The figure on the right leans into the grass, creating a contrast with her companion’s more upright pose. This little scene precedes the broad symbolic colour and animal groups associated with Marc’s mature paintings. ^[1]

The painting’s small size matters when viewing a reproduction. The white skirt and dark jacket seem bold on screen, but on the original support the marks are compact and quickly read. The museum image includes its frame, which makes that scale easier to imagine. The collection records its acquisition in 1985 from the Maria Marc estate and the Franz Marc Stiftung for the museum at Kochel. ^[1]

This is a useful counterpoint to Nude with Cat and Red Woman. Those later images place human figures in more deliberately structured colour. Here, the women remain within a particular open-air moment. The path between them helps show how Marc’s treatment of people changed during the years when animals became a stronger focus of his art. ^{[1] [2]}