by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 17, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
Looking at The White Cat
A white cat sleeps curled on a yellow cushion in Franz Marc's The White Cat, also known as Cat on a Yellow Pillow (Kater auf gelbem Kissen). Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle dates the painting to about 1912 and records it as oil on card, 48.8 × 60 cm. The cat's body forms a broad horizontal curve against the warm cushion and red ground. [1]
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Watch on YouTubeThe painting's true orientation
The painting is horizontal. Its museum photograph and a documented public-domain reproduction agree on that orientation, with the signature at the lower right. Historical versions of the reproduction were also rotated; viewed sideways, the cat can seem to sit upright. In the correct view, its sleeping pose and the weight of its body across the cushion become clear. Orientation is essential to reading the composition. [1] [2]
The cat's closed eyes and tucked paws make the scene feel domestic. Yet the museum observes that the bright white body also gives the animal a presence beyond an ordinary pet portrait. Marc keeps the outline clear here, rather than dissolving the cat into the sharper colour fragments of several other works from this period. The yellow cushion's rounded forms echo the sleeping body's curve. [1]
Franz Marc, The White Cat. The sleeping white cat stretches across a yellow cushion against red.
The museum uses The White Cat to discuss a complicated later history: the painting remained in its collection when other Marc works there were removed under the Nazi campaign against so-called “degenerate art” in 1937. It does not claim to know why this particular work stayed. Compare the quiet, clearly outlined cat with the interlocking bodies in Three Cats. [1]
Artwork Directory
This source-checked selection contains 192 identified works and print designs from the current Franz Marc research set. It is a curated selection, not a complete catalogue raisonné. Some works link to their article here; others link to a collection record. Unresolved identifications are omitted.
Discussion
The cat’s curled body is easy to find, yet the surrounding curves keep the eye moving.
Reader Insights
Observation
Which curve makes the resting pose most convincing?
Comparison
How does this single cat differ from the overlapping bodies in Three Cats?
Interpretation
Does the yellow cushion feel like support, colour field or both?
Join the Conversation
Which detail changed the way you saw this work? Share a close observation or a comparison with another Marc picture.
References
- Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle with ZDF, artwork discussion. View source.
- Wikimedia Commons, Yorck Project file history. View source.
- Related artwork image, Yellow Cow: Photograph by Dr. Alexey Yakovlev; resized without crop or colour change, CC BY-SA 2.0.
- Splash image: Franz Marc, The White Cat (Cat on a Yellow Pillow), about 1912, oil on card. Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle. Faithful public-domain reproduction from the Yorck Project via Wikimedia Commons. Image file and rights.
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