Three Girls in Yellow Straw Hats I

As a member of the German Der Blaue Reiter movement, August Macke first encountered the work of French painter Robert Delaunay in 1911 and was profoundly impressed. From that point on, Delaunay’s vibrant and luminous Cubism, which poet Apollinaire called Orphism, clearly influenced Macke’s work. While Macke did not entirely abandon realistic depiction, he used rhythmic harmonies of color and light to convey the inner spiritual strength of people and the natural world. Macke died in the trenches just a year after painting this piece. Franz Marc, who also soon perished at the front, wrote about his friend's death: "We painters know well that with the loss of his harmony, the color in German art will become many shades paler, a duller, drier resonance. For all of us, he gave color its most vivid and beautiful resonance, clear and bright as his whole life was."

Beautiful!

P.S. Macke's life was as short as it was colorful. Take a closer look at August Macke's unique art. 

P.P.S. Franz Marc and August Macke weren't the only famous painters who fought in the First World War. Here are 5 famous artists that became soldiers during that conflict.