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 Forest with Squirrel
A small red squirrel appears amid angular trunks and dense colour in Franz Marc's Forest with Squirrel (Wald mit Eichhörnchen). Kunsthaus Zürich dates the painting to 1913 and records it as oil on canvas, 109.5 × 100 cm, inventory 1953/0027. Its catalogue also preserves the inscription on the back naming the forest and Marc's home in Sindelsdorf. The squirrel is easy to miss within the tall, narrow field of red, green, blue and black. [1]
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Watch on YouTubeFinding the squirrel
Start near the lower right, where a reddish curved form rises from the dark ground. The animal's small body sits among branches and other shapes that share its angles. Above it, a large circular green form pulls the eye toward the upper right. The forest is more than a setting: trunks and light break into planes that seem to surround and partly absorb the squirrel. Looking for the animal is part of experiencing the painting. [1]
Kunsthaus Zürich acquired the work in 1953. Its catalogue traces the painting through Maria Marc's estate and later handling by Galerie Otto Stangl; it also records past exhibition labels on the back. Those details anchor the object and its history without turning the bright colours into a fixed symbolic code. The museum catalogue does not offer a single explanation for each shape in the forest. [1]
Compare the squirrel's hidden position with the much clearer animals in Deer in the Forest II or the interlocking forms of The Little Monkey. In this painting, the animal is present but the forest's coloured architecture dominates the first view. [1] [2]
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
A small red squirrel is easy to miss among the angular trunks.
Reader Insights
Observation
Where did you find the squirrel first?
Comparison
How does this forest use scale differently from Deer in the Forest?
Interpretation
Does the animal feel hidden by the forest or part of its structure?
Join the Conversation
Which detail changed the way you saw this work? Share a close observation or a comparison with another Marc picture.
References
- Kunsthaus Zürich collection record. View source.
- Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Deer in the Forest II. 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, Forest with Squirrel, 1913, oil on canvas. Kunsthaus Zürich, 1953/0027. Public-domain Kunsthaus-sourced reproduction, resized to 1024 pixels without cropping or colour adjustment. Object record.
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