August Macke (January 3, 1887 – September 26, 1914) was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider).

He lived during a particularly innovative time for German art which saw the development of the main German Expressionist movements as well as the arrival of the successive avant-garde movements which were forming in the rest of Europe.

Like a true artist of his time, Macke knew how to integrate into his painting the elements of the avant-garde which most interested him.