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 Fabulous Beasts I
Two invented animal forms fill Franz Marc’s Fabeltiere I (Tierkomposition I), also translated as Fabulous Beasts I (Composition of Animals I). The painting previously appeared on this site as “Fairy Animals.” Sotheby’s catalogued the 1913 work as tempera and gouache on paper, 25.5 × 31.5 cm, signed with Marc’s initial at the lower left. This is a particular work on paper, not the different Fairy Animal held by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. [1] [2]
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The pale animal at the left turns its pointed face inward. A second, dark-headed creature occupies the right, its eye surrounded by curling yellow strokes. Between them, blue and green planes rise through red bands. Long pale marks cross the dark blue ground above. Their overlapping bodies make the creatures difficult to separate from the surrounding colour, but the two heads remain legible. The pointed face, curved neck and strong vertical strokes give the small sheet a sense of motion larger than its measurements suggest. These are observations of the reproduction rather than claims that the forms depict particular species. [1]
Marc used the title Fabeltiere, or fabulous beasts, for more than one work. The number I and the alternative title Tierkomposition I help identify this sheet. Its colour and intersecting forms also show how an animal picture could approach abstraction while retaining recognisable faces. Compare the single creature in Fabulous Beast II and the still more compressed animal form in Seated Mythical Animal. [1]
The sheet’s recorded history
Sotheby’s traces the work from Paul Melsbach by 1936 through the Resch family and the Deutsche Bank Collection, which acquired it in 1982. The auction catalogue records numerous exhibitions, including the 2005–06 Marc retrospective at the Lenbachhaus. The present private owner is not named in that record. The image here is a public-domain faithful reproduction of the same sheet; its white margin is part of the reproduction and should not be mistaken for an added frame. [1] [3]
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
Two fabulous animal faces remain visible within a fast-moving field of colour.
Reader Insights
Observation
Where do you first separate one animal from the other?
Comparison
How does this pair differ from the single form in Fabulous Beast II?
Interpretation
Which strokes make the small work on paper feel most active?
Join the Conversation
Which detail changed the way you saw this work? Share a close observation or a comparison with another Marc picture.
References
- Sotheby’s, lot 17. View source.
- Buffalo AKG, Fairy Animal. View source.
- Wikimedia Commons file record. 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, Fabeltiere I (Fabulous Beasts I), 1913, tempera and gouache on paper, 25.5 × 31.5 cm. Private collection. Public-domain faithful reproduction from Wikimedia Commons. Image file and rights.
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