August Macke – Gallery of the Finest Paintings from 1909 to 1914

The works of German painter August Macke are a radiant blend of light, color and form — an embodiment of the joy of existence. His paintings radiate harmony, ordered vibrancy and inner rhythm.

Macke’s approach to art was to transform the ordinary into poetic expression. He challenged the darkness of traditional representation and created a world suffused with light, musicality and balance. Alongside Kandinsky and Marc, he was closely linked to the "Der Blaue Reiter" group, yet always maintained his own unique voice.

We selected the best works by August Macke for publication in this gallery, for several reasons:
— they show the evolution of his style from impressionist beginnings to vivid expressionism;
— they represent key periods of his creative life;
— they reflect the artist’s philosophy and singular perception of reality.
Macke's paintings invite viewers to see life as celebration, revealing his ability to find beauty in simplicity and structure.

This August Macke gallery includes artworks that span major stages of his career — from early works in Düsseldorf to his trip to Tunisia in 1914. Each masterpiece reveals a new facet of his artistic language.

August Macke - Portrait of the artist's wife with a hat

1909, 50 × 34 cm

August Macke - Portrait with apples

1910, 66 × 59 cm

August Macke - Adam und Eva

1910, 40 x 49 cm

August Macke - Ansicht vom Tegernsee

1910, 54 x 47 cm

August Macke - Macke Staudacherhaus am Tegernsee

1910, 50 × 50 cm

August Macke - Stilleben

1910

August Macke - Clown in grünen Kostüm

1910, 121 x 72 cm

August Macke - Sailing Boat on the Tegernsee

1910, 72 × 50 cm

August Macke - Gemüsefelder Header

1911, 48 x 64 cm

August Macke - Marienkirche im Schnee

1911, 101 x 80 cm

August Macke - Sitting Nude with Pillow

1911, 53 x 41 cm

August Macke - Türkisches Café

1911, 47 x 64 cm

August Macke - Blumenkasten mit Kaktus

1912, 71 x 70 cm

August Macke - Little Walter's Toys

1912, 60 x 50 cm

August Macke - Spaziergang auf der Brücke

1912, 86 x 100 cm

August Macke - Zoological Garden

1912, 58 x 98 cm

August Macke - Colonnade with Sailboat

1913

August Macke - Damen in Café

1913, 50 × 65 cm

August Macke - Garten auf dem Tegernsee

1913, 60 × 81 cm

August Macke - Esender Mann Park

1913, 86 × 100 cm

August Macke - Garden Restaurant

1913, 81 x 105 cm

August Macke - Haus mit rotem Dach

1913

August Macke - Fashion Window

1913

August Macke - Paar am Gartentisch

1913, 54 x 47 cm

August Macke - Macke Leute vor dem Schaufenster

1913, 55 x 45 cm

August Macke - Mädchen

1913, 120 × 145 cm

August Macke - Promenade

1913, 51x57 cm

August Macke - Seiltänzerin

1913, 46 x 35 cm

August Macke - Women in a Park

1913, 45 x 33 cm

August Macke - The Hat Shop

1913, 60 × 50 cm

August Macke - Three Girls in Yellow Straw Hats

1913, 104 x 87 cm

August Macke - Sunny Way

1913, 50 × 65 cm

August Macke - Woman with a Yellow Jacket

1913

August Macke - Walking in the Park

1913, 44 × 30 cm

In April 1914, August Macke traveled to Tunisia, a journey that became a turning point in his artistic development. Together with Ludwig Kirchner and Hans Ammann, he sought color, light and a new mode of expression.

In Tunisia, Macke discovered the joy of color and the magic of sunlight, which helped him move beyond Impressionism and explore pure harmony between form and luminosity.

The works created there are marked by freshness, joy and clarity. This is where Macke fully embraced his unique style — a fusion of expressionist rhythm and Fauvist palette.

His canvases inspired other artists and laid the foundation for a new understanding of chromatic expression in the German avant-garde. Upon returning to Munich, he showed his work to Kandinsky, who said: "Now we know how light should sound".

August Macke - At the garden table

1914, 100 × 81 cm

August Macke - Cathedral at Freiburg

1914, 75 × 62 cm

August Macke - Colored Composition: Homage to Johann Sebastian Bach

1914, 62 × 52 cm

August Macke - Couple in the Woods

1914, 75 × 75 cm

August Macke - Donkey Rider

1914, 28 × 36 cm

August Macke - Esel im palmenhain

1914, 22 × 27 cm

August Macke - Colored Forms

1914, — × — cm

August Macke - Elisabeth at the Desk

1914, 60 × 50 cm

August Macke - Fashion Store

1914, 75 × 60 cm

August Macke - Woman with a Parrot in a Landscape

1914, 60 × 80 cm

August Macke - Garden Restaurant

1914, 75 × 75 cm

August Macke - Girl in the Greenery

1914, 75 × 75 cm

August Macke - Hat Shop

1914, 60 × 50 cm

August Macke - Children at the Well

1914, 52 × 73 cm

August Macke - In Front of the Hat Shop: Woman with Red Jacket and Child

1914, 60 × 50 cm

August Macke - Kairouan

1914, 60 × 50 cm

August Macke - Marienkirche

1914, 48 × 42 cm

August Macke - Indians on Horses

1914, 50 × 65 cm

August Macke - Landscape

1914, 50 × 65 cm

August Macke - Lady in a Park

1914, 97 × 58 cm

August Macke - Mother and Child in a Park

1914, 56 × 46 cm

August Macke - Portrait

1914, — × — cm

August Macke - On the Street

1914, 50 × 50 cm

August Macke - Still Life with Begonia

1914, — × — cm

August Macke - Tunis

1914, 50 × 65 cm

August Macke - Tunisian Landscape

1914, — × — cm

August Macke - With White Girl in Half-Figure

1914, — × — cm

August Macke - Turkish Café

1914, 35 × 25 cm

August Macke - Vegetable Fields

1914, 50 × 65 cm

August Macke - Woman in Front of a Large Illuminated Window

1914, 50 × 65 cm

August Macke - Woman at the Window

1914, 75 × 75 cm

August Macke became a bridge between Fauvism and German Expressionism, experimenting with color and form, inspiring the later abstract avant-garde in Germany and France toward emotional and abstract painting. He understood that color harmony could be reinterpreted to create emotional impact without relying on nature. His works are distinguished by clean lines, compositional clarity, and a deep love of life. He was among those who helped painting move from realism to inner light in the early 20th century.

Anatoli Gostev drew inspiration from Macke’s painting in his work “Rovinj”, “Café”, exploring simple forms and bold colors often associated with Macke’s spirit. Here’s what he once said about the German painter:

August Macke was a brilliant artist. In a short time, he achieved an astonishing simplicity of form and color. His thinking felt close to mine — he simplified the world without ever losing it to abstraction.

— Anatoli Gostev (1946 – 2022)

Rovinj, Café

Anatoli Gostev - 2019, 2021

Comparing the artist's works over a five-year span, it is clear that August found his light in painting immediately, not after Tunisia. Appraising August Macke's work, feeling it and thus becoming part of his light and pure painting, we almost hear the artist's train of thought:

Thus, every life carries a mysterious chance, and each of our actions cannot fully determine our future. Any choice is unburdened by consequences, and therefore not important.

Relying on our own judgments and criteria, sense of taste, and the emotional impact of the young genius's painting, we highlight four of Macke's best works according to Gostev's appraisal:

August Macke - Stillleben Hyazinthe Teppich

1913, 70 x 120 cm

August Macke - Lady in a Green Jacket

1913, 58 x 48 cm

August Macke - Leute am blauen See

1913, 60 x 49 cm

August Macke - Church with Flags

1914, 48 × 34 cm