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 Grazing Horses III
Four reddish horses occupy a bright yellow-green meadow in Franz Marc’s Weidende Pferde III (Grazing Horses III), painted in 1910. The picture is the third of several related grazing-horse compositions, each with its own arrangement and history. Sotheby’s 2008 catalogue identifies this work as oil on canvas, 61 × 92.5 cm, and records its early ownership and exhibitions. The correctly oriented image appears on the existing “Grazing Horses” route; a second local page, “Horses Out to Pasture,” reproduces the same composition in reverse. [1] [2]
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At the left, one horse lowers its head toward the grass. Near the centre another is seen from behind, its tail and lowered head drawing a long curve through the foreground. A third lifts its head above the horizon, while the horse at the right turns across the viewer's path. Their bodies overlap but do not form a neat row. Each horse moves in a different direction, and the field rises diagonally between them. [2]
Marc gives the coats strong orange and red tones, edged with dark blue. The yellow grass, green shadows and blue-white sky are painted with broad, visible strokes. The horses remain recognisable animals, yet colour and repeated curves make the whole landscape feel rhythmic. Sotheby’s catalogue describes the four postures as central to the painting’s movement and places the work in Marc’s development from the calmer Lenggries herds toward his later, more abstract horse pictures. [1]
A title that changed in exhibitions
The numeral “III” matters. Sotheby’s records that earlier exhibitions and catalogues sometimes called this painting Weidende Pferde II, Streitende Pferde or simply Weidende Pferde. Its current catalogue identity distinguishes it from Grazing Horses IV, also known as Large Red Horses, painted in 1911 and held by Harvard Art Museums. The 1910 work remains in private hands according to the 2008 Sotheby’s record; that source does not establish its present owner. [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
Four reddish horses take different postures in a yellow-green field.
Reader Insights
Observation
Which horse turns toward the viewer’s path?
Comparison
What changes between this 1910 scene and Large Red Horses?
Interpretation
How do the four different directions create movement?
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 13. View source.
- exact Commons reproduction. 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, Weidende Pferde III (Grazing Horses III), 1910, oil on canvas, 61 × 92.5 cm. Private collection in Sotheby’s 2008 record. Exact public-domain faithful reproduction from Wikimedia Commons. Image file and rights.
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