Artist: David Wilde
Title: Homage to Franz Marc
Medium: Acrylic and mixed media on board
Edition: Original, One of a kind
Artwork Dimensions: 73cm x 56cm (29" x 22")
Frame Dimensions: 83cm x 60cm (32.5" x 23.5")
Condition: Image: Good. Frame: New
About the artwork
Homage to Franz Marc is a vivid mixed media composition by British artist David Wilde, created as a heartfelt tribute to the German Expressionist Franz Marc, who was killed at the Battle of Verdun in 1916. Wilde’s angular forms, saturated colors, and layered textures evoke Marc’s signature style while channeling the emotional weight of wartime loss. The piece emerged from a dream, as Wilde recounts in a handwritten note affixed to the reverse, where he describes Marc as a “prophet, a poet of colour, of form.” Through sharp angles, expressive brushwork, and symbolic color choices, Wilde infuses the work with both reverence and urgency—honoring Marc’s legacy while confronting the violence that silenced him. The result is a poignant fusion of homage and protest, rich in historical resonance and artistic conviction. The back of the painting has been framed with clear Perspex so that the story written by Wilde is visible to read and appreciate.
A message from the artist verso:
WHAT A GREAT STUPENDOUS ARTIST WAS SADLY KILLED AT THE CRAZY BATTLE OF VERDUN — THE WORLD AND THE ARTWORLD LOST A PROPHET, A POET OF COLOUR, OF FORM ——
I SAW THIS PICTURE IN A DREAM: EVERY SCRAP OF IT, AND IT STAYED WITH ME WHEN I AWOKE ——
SO, FRANZ: HOMAGE TO YOU: UNIQUE COLOURIST, A MAN WITH BALANCE: I FEEL FOR SHAPES THAT REACH OUT, INFORM, INSTRUCT ——
OH SUCH ARTISTIC SKILL IN EVERY PICTURE OF HIS I’VE SEEN, NOT ONE IS SECOND RATE, THAT’S THE STAMP OF A MASTER — I TRIED TO INFUSE THIS WORK WITH ELEMENTS OF THAT TIME IN VERDUN, BUT ALSO TO BRING IN COLOURS HE USED A LOT — PLUS THE SHARP ANGLES HE LOVED. ALSO, I THOUGHT A LITTLE TEXTURE WAS REQUIRED TO EMPHASISE THE ENVIRONMENT AT THE TIME:
SO, LIVE ON MARC, YOUR ART CERTAINLY DOES ——
About the Artist
David Wilde (1913–1978) was a British painter and poet whose work fused emotional intensity with abstract form. Often drawing inspiration from industrial landscapes, wartime memory, and spiritual themes, Wilde developed a distinctive visual language marked by bold colour, angular geometry, and expressive texture. His paintings frequently carried poetic inscriptions or handwritten reflections, revealing a deeply personal connection to his subjects. Wilde’s tributes—such as Homage to Franz Marc—demonstrate his reverence for fellow artists and his belief in art as a vehicle for remembrance and protest. Though not widely commercialized during his lifetime, Wilde’s work has gained posthumous recognition for its raw authenticity and visionary depth.
