August Macke, 1912, Rokoko, oil on canvas, 89 x 89 cm, National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Norway

August Macke (1887–1914), German painter who was a leader of Der Blaue Reiter (“The Blue Rider”), an influential group of Expressionist artists. Macke studied at the Düsseldorf Academy from 1904 to 1906. During his first trip to Paris in 1907 he was profoundly influenced by the work of the Impressionist painters, and he began to emulate their style, painting portraits in subtly dappled colours.