They stand with their heads bowed to the left, in front of a mountainous landscape, which is vaulted by a sky with white clouds.

The famous Marc painting from the same year, Blue Horses created after this study in oil on canvas, has the dimensions 106 × 181 cm and shows the same motif, with only the colours changed significantly.

The horse's bodies are held in a strong blue, the landscape and sky have red and purple tones that do not correspond to reality.

The former owner of the watercolour until 1937 was the Moritzburg Art and Industry Museum in Halle, and it had been acquired by its director Max Sauerlandt in 1914.

The Expressionist work was considered "degenerate" by the Nazi regimen, removed and confiscated from the museum, and came afterwards into the possession of Hildebrand Gurlitt.