Cats on a Red Cloth by Franz Marc

Looking at Cats on a Red Cloth

The legacy page titled “Cats” shows Cats on a Red Cloth (Katzen auf rotem Tuch), an oil painting dated 1909–10. Munich’s city guide identifies that title and date, while the exact Commons reproduction confirms the pictured group. The broader title “Cats” should be treated as a route alias, not as evidence that every Marc cat picture belongs to this page. The scene is distinct from the later Three Cats and Two Cats, Blue and Yellow. ^{[1] [2]}

Watch: Franz Marc

Explore Marc’s blue horses, the Blue Rider circle and the move towards abstraction in English-language videos.

Franz Marc, Blue Horses and Der Blaue Reiter

The Canvas

An English-language introduction to Marc’s blue horses, animals, spirituality and the Blue Rider.

Watch on YouTube

▶01 · Marc and his horsesFranz Marc, Blue Horses and Der Blaue ReiterThe Canvas▶02 · The Blue RiderWho were the Blue Rider?Tate▶03 · Towards abstractionThe Case for AbstractionThe Art Assignment · PBS Digital Studios

Resting together

Three cats lie close on a striped red cloth. The pale cat at the top stretches over the others, while a dark animal curves below it and a smaller light form tucks between them. Their bodies almost make one connected shape. Loose green and yellow marks around the group suggest ground or foliage without requiring a detailed setting. The warm textile helps separate the animals from the lively background. ^[2]

The picture comes before Marc’s most sharply simplified animal canvases. Its overlapping cats are still described through textured paint and recognisable fur, yet the group already invites attention to how bodies fit together. Compare the clearer colour blocks of The White Cat or the stronger contrasts of Three Cats: Marc did not assign one settled visual formula to this recurring subject. ^{[1] [2]}