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 Three Cats
Three cats twist through a space of red, green, yellow and black in Franz Marc's Three Cats (Drei Katzen). Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen identifies the work as a 1913 oil painting on canvas, 72.6 × 102.5 cm, accession 0190. It was acquired for the Düsseldorf collection in 1973 and is listed as on view at K20. The museum photograph confirms that the old page image shows this same composition. [1]
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The red cat's head appears at the upper left; the yellow cat turns at the right. Across the foreground, a pale black-and-white cat stretches diagonally between them. Its extended body links the outer figures and makes the middle of the picture feel crowded. Curves of backs and tails are set against triangular areas of colour. The cats remain distinguishable, but Marc makes their shared space as active as the animals themselves. [1]
This is a larger and more complex group than the single sleeping animal of The White Cat. There, a curled body rests against yellow cushions. Here each cat turns differently, and their bodies cut across one another. Look at the white cat's long diagonal first, then follow it toward the other two faces; the movement gives the painting its rhythm. [1] [2]
The collection record supplies the title, date, medium, measurements and acquisition. It does not explain the cats as named symbols. A close reading can therefore stay with what the painting shows: three contrasting animals held together by overlapping contours and colour. For another pair of Marc's cats, see Two Cats, Blue and Yellow. [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
Each cat turns differently, and their bodies make one tight group.
Reader Insights
Observation
Where does each cat’s outline become clear?
Comparison
How do these cats differ from the earlier Cats on a Red Cloth?
Interpretation
Which pose makes the group feel calm or unsettled?
Join the Conversation
Which detail changed the way you saw this work? Share a close observation or a comparison with another Marc picture.
References
- Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen object record. View source.
- Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle with ZDF, The White Cat. 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, Three Cats, 1913, oil on canvas. Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 0190. Public-domain reproduction, resized to 1024 pixels without cropping or colour adjustment. Museum object record.
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